Newark Machine Works
The Newark Machine Works, one of Newark's earliest manufacturers, produced steam farming implements in the pre-Civil War era. The company was a short-lived operation (c. 1854-1866), yet its shops generated a number of successor manufacturers whose impact on the county was significant. The Machine Works' history is also complicated by an ambiguity; a second, seemingly unrelated company with similar products called the "Newark Machine Works" began operations in Newark in the 1880s, moved to Columbus, and then relocated back to the city from Columbus in 1895.
Old Newark Machine Works
The site utilized by the Machine Works north of downtown would become the location for the Consumers Brewing Company.
New Newark Machine Works
The New Newark Machine Company built its first production site in Newark along Wilson Street and the Canal around 1883. The company would soon relocate to Columbus in 1884-1885, only to return to Newark in 1895. [4]
The Newark Machine Works of the 1880s became embroiled in a dispute with the city over those relocations; reciprocal promises had been made by each party regarding finances and employment quotas respectively. The City Council of Newark regarded the Machine Works in violation of its agreements after its departure from the city. A reconciliation took place between Council and the Machine Works and the company returned to Newark. [5]
The relocated Newark Machine Works occupied a new location at what would become South 21st Street north of the Newark Earthworks and along a railroad line. The company would change its name to Blair Manufacturing Company in honor of Frank M. Blair, the engineer and mechanic behind their new truck design. [6] The company would continue to evolve into the American Motor Truck Company of Newark, makers of Ace Trucks.
J.G.
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References
- ↑ "Recollection of the Old Newark Machine Shops," Newark Advocate, Jul. 4, 1903, 8
- ↑ Cincinnati Daily Commercial, May 23, 1864, 3; "Recollection of the Old Newark Machine Shops," Newark Advocate, Jul. 4, 1903, 8
- ↑ "Thomas' Foundery," Newark Daily Advocate, Sep. 6, 1890, 4
- ↑ "Good News," Newark Daily Advocate, Sep. 25, 1894, 8
- ↑ "The Newark Machine Works," Newark Daily Advocate, Apr. 29, 1885, 4; "City Council," Newark Daily Advocate, Oct. 2, 1894, 5
- ↑ "Blair Direct Drive Motor Truck Built in Newark Factory," Newark Daily Advocate, Dec. 6, 1911, 2