In 1908, a Boston company, Common Sense Gum, purchased land at the northern end of Third Street in Newport for the construction of a gum manufacturing company. The Common Sense Co. factory opened for business in 1912, producing Listerated Gum, a popular choice of WWI soldiers. By 1921 the Common Sense Co. had changed its name to Listerated Gum Corp, and was producing Orbit Listerated Gum. In 1925 the Wrigley company bought and closed the Listerated gum factory. L. P. Larson Jr. would make an unsuccessful go of producing gum in Newport in the 1930s. Unlike the long-lasting appeal of gum, Newport’s involvement in the manufacturing of gum was short lived.
