Worthington Corporation Records
name: label: Creator
content: Holly Manufacturing Company
label: Creator
content: Worthington Corporation
label: Names
content: Henry R. Worthington Pump Works
label: Names
content: International Steam Pump Company
label: Names
content: Jeanesville Iron Works
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry
label: Names
content: Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation
label: Names
content: Grace, John F.
place: label: Place
content: England
label: Place
content: London
label: Place
content: Hazelton (Penn.)
label: Place
content: Buffalo (N.Y.)
label: Place
content: Holyoke (Mass.)
label: Place
content: Cincinnati (Ohio)
topic: label: Topic
content: Business -- History
label: Topic
content: Steam-engines
label: Topic
content: Diesel engines
label: Topic
content: Pumping machinery
label: Topic
content: Steam-turbines
label: Topic
content: Rock-drills
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated to the Smithsonian in the 1960s by Studebaker Worthington, Inc.
creator: label: Creator
content: Holly Manufacturing Company
label: Creator
content: Worthington Corporation
setName: label: See more items in
content: Worthington Corporation Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: This collection documents the products and business activities of the Worthington Corporation, its predecessors and its subsidiaries.  The records focus on the products that the Worthington Corporation produced, including steam pumps, hydraulic pumps and gas engines.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Henry R. Worthington (December 17, 1817-December 17, 1880) was an innovator in the world of 19th century steam pumps earning patents for a direct-acting steam pump (US Patent 6274) and a duplex steam pump (US Patent 116,131).  Initially, Worthington partnered with William H. Baker to found the Worthington & Baker Works in 1845, with the works based in Brooklyn.  Worthington's company began by producing various pumps for naval craft, including pumps installed on the USS Monitor, the first ironclad ship of the US Navy.  After Baker's death, Worthington changed the name of his business to the Henry R. Worthington Corporation and expanded into the production of water works pumps for major cities.
  
Worthington pumps gained international acclaim at World's Fairs in the latter half of the 19th century.  Fountains at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 and Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the hydraulic pumps for the Eiffel Tower's elevators at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 were all powered by Worthington products.

In 1899, Worthington was purchased and merged into the International Steam Pump Company, along with the Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company, Laidlaw-Dunn-Gordon Company, the Snow Steam Works, the Deane Steam Pump Company and several smaller works.  After the acquisition of these different works, the International Steam Pump Company's product line expanded to include gas engines and mining machinery.

International Steam Pump reverted to the Worthington name, first as Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation (1916-1952) and then as the Worthington Corporation (1952-1967).  It was also during this time when Worthington relocated its main works from Brooklyn to Harrison, New Jersey in 1917.  All the while, the company continued to produce hydraulic engines, gas engines and water works pumps.  Through various mergers the company also diversified into refrigeration and air conditioning.  In 1967, the Worthington Corporation merged with the Studebaker Automobile Manufacturing Company, becoming Studebaker-Worthington.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 18 Cubic feet (54 boxes, 1 map folder)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1840-1982
custodhist: label: Ownership and Custodial History
content: Transferred to the Archives Center in 2007 by the Division of Work and Industry.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0916
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Financial records
label: Type
content: Trade catalogs
label: Type
content: Reports
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Advertisements
label: Type
content: Patents
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Newsletters
label: Type
content: Minute books
label: Type
content: Legal documents
label: Type
content: Correspondence
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into five series.

Series 1: Historical and Reference Materials, 1847-1965

Series 2: Administrative and Business Records, 1856-1963

Series 3: Publications, 1872-1982

Series 4: Photographs, 1840-1964

Series 5: Sketchbooks and Notebooks, 1882-1964
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Miles Lawlor; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist, July 2019.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Financial records -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Trade catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Reports
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Advertisements
label: Genre/Form
content: Patents
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 19th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Newsletters -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Minute books
label: Genre/Form
content: Legal documents
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 19th century
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This collection documents the products and business activities of the Worthington Corporation, its predecessors and its subsidiaries.  It consists of annual and monthly reports, correspondence, legal filings, trade literature, photographs, airbrushed photographs and product illustrations, financial reports, meeting minutes, newsletters, company histories and research notes, patents, blueprints, engineering sketchbooks, lecture notes, publications, and promotional materials for several World's Fairs where Worthington products were exhibited.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series: Pumps (AC0060)

Division of Political and Military History

The Division of Political and Military History holds photographs of a World War I bond drive at the Deane Works of Holyoke, Massachusetts. See accessions: 1979.0015.01 and 1979.0015.04.

Division of Medicine and Science

The Division of Medicine and Science holds several Watch Dog Water Meters produced by the Worthington-Gamon Meter Company. See accessions PH.325890 and PH.325891.

Smithsonian Institution Libraries Trade Literature Collection

The libraries contain trade literature on Worthington and its subsidiaries.