 William T. Piper , Sr. , built the Piper Aircraft Corporation factory in Lock Haven in 1937 after the company 's Taylor Aircraft manufacturing plant in Bradford , Pennsylvania , was destroyed by fire . The factory began operations in a building that once housed a silk mill . As the company grew , the original factory expanded to include engineering and office buildings . Piper remained in the city until 1984 , when its new owner , Lear @-@ <unk> , moved production to <unk> Beach , Florida . The Clinton County Historical Society opened the Piper Aviation Museum at the site of the former factory in 1985 , and 10 years later the museum became an independent organization . 
