Hooven, Owens, Rentschler, and Company was an engine manufacturing firm based in Hamilton, Ohio that produced a large quantity of stationary Corliss steam engines in the late 19th-early 20th century. Its focus shifted to marine engines following the United States' entry to World War One in 1917, which saw the company receiving multiple government contracts. These contracts were initially for smaller, 850- and 1400-horsepower engines, but eventually included 2800-horsepower engines. The height of its efforts saw the company producing up to four 2800-horsepower engines a week. In addition to producing steam engines, Hooven, Owens, Rentschler, and Company also manufactured diesel engines. The Hamilton, Ohio plant built a large quantity of triple-expansion steam reciprocating engines for Liberty Ships in WWII as General Machinery Corporation, the company’s official name as of 1928. After several mergers, General Machinery Corporation became part of the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation, which was in operation until 1972.
This collection is available to the public by appointment at the Steamship Historical Society. Objects that are fragile, significant, or require additional tools to access may require archivist assistance.
Use, reproduction, and/or publication of archival material is prohibited without prior approval of the Steamship Historical Society. Fees and/or restrictions may apply. Please contact the SSHSA archivist, Astrid Drew, at adrew@sshsa.org for more information.
General Machinery Corporation Collection, 1976.01, Steamship Historical Society of America Archives, www.sshsa.org.
This collection comprises records from Hooven, Owens, Rentschler Co., which later became part of General Machinery Corporation and then the Baldwin-Hamilton Company. Notable items in the collection include a series of ledgers featuring calibrations and aspects of steam and diesel engine manufacturing, as well as several photo albums of General Machinery Corp's Hamilton, Ohio plant. These photo albums include many photos of women factory workers during WWII.
This collection is arranged in three series.
Henry Rentschler, President of the Baldwin-Hamilton Company (formerly General Machinery Corporation), donated this collection to the SSHSA in 1976. The SSHSA retains the original Deed of Gift, appraisal, and inventory of the collection. The General Machinery Corporation Collection was retroactively accessioned by Archivist Astrid Drew in 2015 and later processed and cataloged by Assistant Archivist Tessa Mediano in June 2023.
The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission has a list of institutions holding material from Baldwin Locomotive Works and Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton: