It’s a decidedly American story: one century ago in 1907, a young German immigrant named Fred Leupold set up a one man shop at 5th and Oak Streets in Portland, Oregon, repairing optics for surveying equipment. Leupold & Stevens is still family owned, though our focus has turned from surveying to helping people all across the globe survey their environments with the innovative, high-performance sports optics and accessories.

A lot happened in between. Fred Leupold was joined by his brother-in-law, Adam Voelpel. Later, an ingenious and prolific inventor and consulting engineer named John Cyprian Stevens became a partner in the business. The small company survived the First World War and the Great Depression. But it was the Second World War that would change the company forever. Working with the U.S. Army on a riflescope and the Navy on Leuopold optics for use aboard ships, the engineers at Leupold learned the secrets of waterproofing and durable construction that would completely change the world of sports optics.