The Mile-Long Factory: Sagamore’s Keith Car Company

In 2009, Joe and Kathy Hicinbothem purchased the CertaPro franchise incorporating Barnstable, Dukes, and Martha's Vineyard counties. While the Hicinbothems have led the local operation for nearly two decades, this territory has been a staple of the Cape’s professional landscape since the very inception of CertaPro Painters in 1992.

Founded in 1846, the Keith Car & Manufacturing Company in Sagamore eventually grew to become the Cape’s largest employer, at one point employing 1,400 people. While they started with stagecoaches and prairie schooners, their legacy was cemented in WWI when they built 40,000 freight cars under contract for use in France. The factory was so massive that it stretched nearly a mile long, essentially defining the village of Sagamore before the expansion of the Cape Cod Canal led to its eventual demolition.

Since 2009, we’ve taken pride in the same kind of local grit that built the Cape’s industrial past, ensuring every project we finish is as resilient as a Sagamore-built rail car.

Cape Cod: Our Home is a community service sponsored by CertaPro Painters of Cape Cod based in Barnstable Village, serving all of Cape Cod and the Islands. Enjoy our twice-weekly postings and please tell your friends.