Bata Belcamp Book

The sleepy town of Belcamp, Maryland had no idea that the rise of Adolph Hitler would forever change its economy, architecture, and culture. Already an established multinational shoe manufacturing company in 1933, Bata Shoe Company of Czechoslovakia was looking to the West to expand its international operations and avoid the growing turmoil in Europe. In that year, Tomas Bata Jr., his mother, his uncle Jan Bata, and several Bata executives traveled to the United States and to Canada to explore the possibility of establishing a new campus. Their travels led them to Belcamp, which was chosen as one of the new locations. To adequately house their facilities, Bata purchased more than 2,000 acres of historically significant Harford County Real Estate known as Sophia’s Dairy. 

In the beginning, despite its boost to the local economy, the firm ran afoul of American manufacturing companies, American labor unions, and the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization.