Charles T. Main, Inc. Photographs
name: label: Creator
content: Main, Charles T., Inc.
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry
topic: label: Topic
content: Mills and mill-work
label: Topic
content: Factories
label: Topic
content: Civil engineers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collection donated by Charles T. Main, Inc. through R.X. Oliveri, circa 1962.
creator: label: Creator
content: Main, Charles T., Inc.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Charles T. Main, Inc. Photographs
abstract: label: Summary
content: Collection contains photographs of factories, mills, and other projects undertaken by Charles T. Main Inc.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Chas. T. Main, Inc. was a Boston engineering company founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate Charles T. Main in 1893. Main was a mechanical engineer working in the textile mills of New England and a major developer in the new field of hydroelectric power. He also served as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' President from 1918-1919. In 1926, the company was incorporated as Chas. T. Main, Inc. Main and his associates decided that all stock would be privately owned by senior engineers so that the company was free of outside influence and only those who knew the industry best would make decisions. By the 1950s, Chas. T. Main Inc. consulted or worked internationally on projects, including building a hydro-electric plant in Turkey and developing a plan to unify development of the water resources of the Jordan River Valley for its surrounding countries, Jordan, Syria, and Israel. Domestically, Chas. T. Main, Inc. began an association with the Atomic Energy Commission in 1949 and was responsible for supporting plutonium production reactors facilities, water treatment plants, and reactor coolant activities, among other nuclear projects. In 1956, a rock slide in the Niagara River New York destroyed two-thirds of the Niagara power capacity. Chas. T. Main, Inc. was contracted to create a power plant to compensate for the loss of power and save the area's economy. In the late 1980s, suffering management problems, the company was bought by Parsons Corporation of Pasadena, California. In 1992, the company's name was changed to Parsons Main, Inc., located in Canton, Massachusetts as a subsidiary of Parsons Corporation.

Source

Northeastern University, Archives and Special Collections
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.3 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1910-1953
label: Date
content: bulk 1910
custodhist: label: Ownership and Custodial History
content: Transferred to the Archives Center from Division of Work and Industry to the Archives Center in 2007.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1053
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Collection is arranged into one series by project.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2018.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- 1900-1910
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This collection contains photographs of factories, mills, and other projects undertaken by Charles T. Main Inc., Boston civil and plant engineers.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials at Other Organizations

Northeastern University, Archives and Special Collections

Chas. T. Main, Inc. records, 1975-[1977+]