The Marugg Company was founded by Christian Marugg in the early 1870s in what is now Gruetli-Laager. Seeing the need for a variety of farming tools, he started importing these tools from Switzerland and Germany. Since these tools didn’t come with handles, he found that American hickory was ideal for that purpose. It was strong, and could be steam bent to form a very functional handle for the scythe, an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. This handle, called a snath, became very popular when combined with the imported blade and was in high demand.

His son, Martin, expanded the operation and moved to Tracy City in 1900. This new location offered telegraph and rail service not available in Gruetli at that time. Being a good businessman, he expanded into numerous other ventures besides tools. These included the New York Stores of Tracy City, Monteagle and Winchester. He was also a director of the Dixie Telephone Company (later Ben Lomand Telephone), and First National Bank (later Citizens Tri-County Bank). The Marugg Company also offered services that included electrical, plumbing, wagon repair and shoe repair. Martin became one of Grundy County’s wealthiest and most influential men.

The tool business grew until two wars with Germany largely stopped the import business. However, a rebirth of the scythe business emerged sometime in the 1950s after Wendell Berry, a noted farming author, stated that the Marugg scythe was an outstanding tool for grass and grain cutting. When a better source of wood was found in Alabama, production increased again in the 1990s. More recently, a new market in the Amish communities provided the incentive to increase production, and the advent of online marketing has provided the ability to advertise and sell more widely.