Louden Machinery Company

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William Louden, c. 1915 William Louden.jpg
William Louden, c. 1915

The Louden Machinery Company was an American engineering, manufacturing and design company based in Fairfield, Iowa. Founded by William Louden, the company in its early years manufactured and sold the patented hay carrier that he invented in 1867. The company later expanded into a wide variety of farm equipment and, in 1906, began an Architecture Department that reportedly designed more than 25,000 barns from 1906 to 1939. During World War I, Louden's monorail equipment carrier began to be applied to industrial and military applications. By the 1920s, much of the company's revenues were derived from industrial applications of its monorail equipment carriers.

Contents

Several sites associated with the company have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These sites include the company's 1892 manufacturing facility in downtown Fairfield, several homes in and around Fairfield, and a number of barns in Iowa, Ohio and Michigan that were designed by the company's Architecture Department.

Company history

Founding and early years

William Louden's 1867 patent for a hay carrier William Louden patent (1867) for "Elevating and Conveying Device".jpg
William Louden's 1867 patent for a hay carrier

The company was founded by William Louden (1841-1931). Louden was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Iowa as an infant. After attending Axline University in Fairfield, he became a teacher. In 1867, he invented a patented hay carrier that made two-story barns practical. According to one description, Louden's hay carrier "utilized the already existing hay fork tool but broadened its use by attaching it to an overhead monorail along which the hay fork and hay could be moved within a barn." [1] [2] [3] [4]

In 1868, he opened his first shop to manufacture his hay carriers. In 1868, Louden moved his manufacturing operation to Fairfield where it operated under the name Louden Manufacturing Works. Despite setbacks resulting in his bankruptcy during the Long Depression of the 1870s, he continued manufacturing hay carriers through the 1880s. In 1887, William Louden and his wife Mary Jane formed Louden Machinery Company. Younger brother Robert B. "R.B." Louden (1857-1939) joined the company in 1889 and became the company's president when it incorporated in 1892. In the early 1890s, the company opened a factory in downtown Fairfield (at 607 West Broadway) that is still in existence and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [1] [4]

Expansion

Louden Cross Draft Hay Carrier (1915) Louden Cross Draft Hay Carrier (1915).png
Louden Cross Draft Hay Carrier (1915)

The company expanded in the 1890s and 1900s, with R.B. handling the business side, William being left free to invent new products. William added to the company's product line with his inventions of a flexible barn door hanger (1895), barn litter carriers and tracks (1898), all-steel cow stalls (1907), individual automatic watering bowls for cows (1912), an Easy Feeding Hog Trough (1914), and an industrial line of Overhead Carrying Equipment (1917). [1] [4] Albert H. Neller, who has been described as William Louden's "right-hand-man," is also credited with developing a number of products, including the automatic watering bowls, and with being a key to the company's success during the 1910s and 1920s. [5] The company also expanded geographically opening branches in Canada (1900), Minneapolis (1903), Albany, New York (1912), and Chicago (1915). [1] By 1915, the factory in Fairfield employed 100 men, and the company operated another large factory in Guelph, Ontario. [4] By 1920, Louden Machinery Company had sales of $2.5 million. [6]

The company continued to expand its product line in the 1920s and 1930s, adding a wide array of products, including barn cupolas, exhaust and intake hoods and louvers, fans, valves, pulleys, power hoists, concrete mangers, a patented garage door hanger (using overhead door tracks for ease in opening and closing), playground equipment (including slides, see-saws, gym sets, "swing bobs," and "whirl-arounds"), and thermostats. [1]

Architecture Department

1920 Louden Barn Plans Catalog 1920 Louden Barn Plans Catalog.jpg
1920 Louden Barn Plans Catalog

In 1906, the company established an Architectural Department, sometimes referred to as the Louden Planning Service or the Barn Plan Department, began offering free "barn planning service." The company's architects designed barns "to promote more efficient use of space and labor saving devices," including the use of Louden equipment. The Architecture Department's projects include Homewood Farms for the president of Deere & Co., as well as several barns that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Architecture Department also designed specialized dairy barns, horse stables, hog and chicken houses, and farmstead sites. The company reported that it had planned more than 25,000 barns by 1939. The department also published a catalog of barn plans, including round barns, that was published in multiple editions in the first half of the 20th century. Architects employed by the Louden Architecture Department include Edward C. Peterkie (1879-1940), Guy A. Carpenter, C. Eugene Fleming, The Architecture Department ceased operations in approximately 1947. [1] [4]

Industrial applications for Louden Monorail

During World War I, Louden's monorail litter carrier was adapted to industrial uses, including the manufacture of ammunition. By the 1920s, the company earned much of its revenue from industrial applications of Louden Monorail to carry equipment in factories of companies such as Allis-Chalmers and General Motors. The company also established a Louden Engineers division to design custom adaptations of Louden Monorail in a variety of contexts, including factories, foundries, industrial dipping machines, clothing handling, bales of cotton, motion picture lighting. [1] [4]

During World War II, the company reached record production levels, fueled by demand for the company's overhead handling equipment, including the improved Louden "Super Track" monorail systems. Military applications of Louden Monorail included its application for material handling devices used in the manufacture of the first atomic bomb at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and for material handling in a B-29 bomber plant in Marietta, Georgia. [1] [4] [7]

Later years

William Louden died in 1931, and Robert B. Louden followed in 1939. William's son, Robert Bruce Louden, took over as the company's president following the death of Robert B. Louden and continued to hold that position until his death in 1952. Arthur Clare Louden, another son of William, served as the company's president from 1952 to 1953. [1] [4]

In 1956, the company was purchased by Mechanical Handling Systems, Inc., of Detroit, Michigan. William's grandson, William L. Fry, served as the firm's president general manager from 1956 to 1963. In 1965, Louden's line of farm equipment was discontinued. Louden's overhead handling equipment continued to operate and became the Crane & Monorail Systems Division of American Chain and Cable Company (ACCO). [1] Acco-Louden continues to manufacture overhead monorail conveying equipment. [8]

Historic sites

Louden Machinery Company (Broadway Building) The Louden Machinery Company.jpeg
Louden Machinery Company (Broadway Building)

A number of buildings and structures attributed to, or associated with, the company and the Louden family are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [1] [9]

Attributed to Louden Machinery Company

Sites attributed in whole or in part to the Louden Machinery Company include:

Affiliated properties

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R. Bruce and May W. Louden House United States historic place

The R. Bruce and May W. Louden House is an historic building located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. Original construction is in a colonial revival style and the interior was remodeled in an art deco style in 1928. Louden sold the property in 1948, and it was broken into apartments in the 1960s. The house was built in 1905 and was the residence of R. Bruce and May W. Louden until 1948.

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R. B. and Lizzie L. Louden House United States historic place

The R. B. and Lizzie L. Louden House, also known as the William and Susan F. Elliott House and the John and Gladdy Ball House, is a historic residence located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. The single family dwelling was built in 1871 for William and Susan Elliott. The house's historical significance derives from its association with R. B. Louden, who served as the president of the Louden Machinery Company from 1899 through 1939 and his residence here. He and his wife Lizzie substantially remodeled the house in 1900 and 1929, which gives it its eclectic appearance. The latter addition includes two enclosed porches and a sleeping porch designed by Ottumwa, Iowa architect George M. Kerns. The historic designation includes the 2½-story brick house and the 2-story, brick, double garage in the back. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

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the company is still in production, it has not closed.

Midway Stock Farm Barn United States historic place

Midway Stock Farm Barn was a historic building located north of Keosauqua, Iowa, United States. The barn was built by William A. Barker around 1880. It gained historical significance when his son Webb installed equipment made by the Louden Machinery Company of Fairfield, Iowa. By doing so he converted the facility from one that raised livestock to a dairy operation. Around 1918 Barker built an addition onto the south side of the barn and installed a litter carrier with tracks and switches on the ground floor, a hay carrier with a steel track and grapple hook hay fork also on the main floor, and a metal aerator on the roof. It was one of a few local operations that still had the Louden equipment in place.

Fred and Rosa Fulton Barn United States historic place

The Fred and Rosa Fulton Barn is a historic building located north of Selma, Iowa, United States in rural Jefferson County. The barn was built by Rosa from plans prepared by the Louden Machinery Company of Fairfield, Iowa. It is a good example of the company's Gothic laminated roof design. The barn also includes other Louden-manufactured devices, including "Master-Made" ventilator windows, metal roof aerators, hay carrier and fork, and door tracks and trolleys. This equipment is original to the barn's construction in 1947. Built for a dairy operation, the structure has subsequently been used for general farm purposes. The barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

August and Vera Luedtke Barn United States historic place

The August and Vera Luedtke Barn is a historic building located north of Fairfield, Iowa, United States in rural Jefferson County. The barn was built by Luedtke from plans prepared by the Louden Machinery Company of Fairfield. He had previously built other barns using the same company's designs in the area. This barn features a gambrel roof, concrete walls, and eleven intact Louden dairy stanchions and a hay carrier system that are original to the building's construction in 1947. Built for a dairy operation, the structure has subsequently been used for storage. The barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

United States Senator James F. Wilson House United States historic place

US Senator James F. Wilson House, also known as the Hamilton House and the Fulton House, is a historic residence located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. This house was built for attorney William L. Hamilton in 1854. Its notoriety is derived from the residency of James F. Wilson, who lived here from 1863 to 1895.

R.R. and Antoinette Louden House United States historic place

The R.R. and Antoinette Louden House, also known as the Thomas A. and Dorothy C. Louden House, is a historic residence located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. R.R. (Roy) Louden was the highly successful manager of the Louden Machinery Company advertising department in the 1920s, and he served as the corporation's secretary from 1931 until his death in 1951. He and his wife Antoinette had this house built in 1925. He lived here until his death in 1951. Their son Thomas and his wife Dorothy lived in the house after his parents. Thomas became general legal counsel for the company in the 1940s. The house is 2½-story, brick Colonial Revival with a side gable roof. It features a wall chimney on the east elevation, a single-story solarium, and a single-story porch on the main facade. An addition was added to the rear of the house in 1956. A two-car attached garage was built onto the addition in the 1980s. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

William and Mary Jane Louden House United States historic place

The William and Mary Jane Louden House is a historic residence located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. It historical significance is derived from its association with William Louden, a co-founder of Louden Machinery Company with his brother R.B. Previously, he secured his first two patents by 1867: one was for hay-stacking, and another was for hay-carrying. He would go on to obtain over 100 more patents. Being the inventive genius of the firm, William brought it to a national reputation in barn construction and farm equipment. The house is a 2½-story, frame, single family dwelling. It was built for the Louden's by C.E. Ward from 1896 to 1897 in the Queen Anne style. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Louden Monorail System in the Auto Repair Shop United States historic place

The Louden Monorail System in the Auto Repair Shop, also known as McGuire Motor Company and Crandall's Electric Service, is a historic structure located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. The monorail system is located in a former auto repair shop along an alley between East Broadway Avenue and East Briggs Avenue. It is the rear, single-story, portion of the building at 117 E. Broadway Ave where the system is located. The storefront portion of the building, also historically associated with the automobile industry, is a two-story brick building built on a stone foundation. The east side of the central business district in Fairfield had become the center for automobile related businesses by the 1920s. Harley Carter bought this building in 1920, and had the monorail system, manufactured by the Louden Machinery Company, installed about 1922. The overhead material handling system is permanently attached to the east wall of the shop. It allowed the mechanics to more easily move the heavy engines and other parts to and from vehicles. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Louden Whirl-Around United States historic place

The Louden Whirl-Around is a historic object located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. It is a type of a playground merry-go-round manufactured by the Louden Machinery Company. It was built about 1930 on the grounds of the Fairfield Country Club. The octagon-shaped apparatus is composed of steel pipe, malleable iron couplings, and wood. It is located south of the swimming pool behind the clubhouse. Louden had to begin a line of playground equipment in order to acquire patent rights that it needed to develop its line of overhead material handling systems. They acquired the J.C. Porter Company of Ottawa, Illinois, which manufactured the playground equipment and held those rights. The playground apparatus exemplifies the company's growth in the 1920s. Most of the schools in Fairfield had playground equipment manufactured by Louden. The object was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Iowa Malleable Iron Company United States historic place

The Iowa Malleable Iron Company was a historic industrial complex located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. At one time the historic designation included nine buildings, most of them have been torn down. The remaining building was the two-story office building for the factory that was constructed in 1924. Most of the complex was built in 1904 north of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad tracks. The company produced malleable iron castings for agricultural implement manufacturers, including Fairfield's Louden Machinery Company. For the most part it was established by the officers of the Louden Company, and it is thought to be the first foundry of its kind between the Mississippi River and Pueblo, Colorado. The two companies maintained a close association throughout their histories. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Gothic-arch barn

A Gothic-arched roof barn or Gothic-arch barn or Gothic barn or rainbow arch is a barn whose profile is in the ogival shape of a Gothic arch. These became economically feasible when arch members could be formed by a lamination process. The distinctive roofline features a center peak as in a gable roof, but with symmetrical curved rafters instead of straight ones. The roof could extend to the ground making the roof and walls a complete arch, or be built as an arched roof on top of traditionally framed walls.

A patented track crane is a crane with a bottom flange of hardened steel and a raised tread to improve rolling.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form for Louden Machinery Company". National Park Service. 1998.
  2. "Louden Machinery Co., Fairfield, IA". Fairfield Iowa History. January 21, 2011.
  3. "The Louden Machinery Company Story, Page 1". Jefferson County Trails, The Louden Tour (adapted from the "Fairfield Heritage Trail" developed by the Jefferson County Historic Preservation Commission). January 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Feature Story, William Louden - Father of the Hay Carrier" (PDF). North American Hay Tool Collectors Association. September 2010. pp. 4–12.
  5. Jeffrey Fitz-Randolph (January 2011). "Louden Automatic Watering Bowl". Jefferson County Trails, The Louden Tour (adapted from the "Fairfield Heritage Trail" developed by the Jefferson County Historic Preservation Commission).
  6. National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form for Louden Machinery Company, pp. E13 to E15.
  7. "The Louden Machinery Company Story, Page 2". Jefferson County Trails, The Louden Tour (adapted from the "Fairfield Heritage Trail" developed by the Jefferson County Historic Preservation Commission). January 2011.
  8. "Acco-Louden". Andress Engineering Associates, Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-01-21. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  10. Fred & Rose Fulton Barn, c. 1947
  11. "Granot Loma". Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Historic Sites Online. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  12. Broadway (Louden) Building, c. 1892
  13. Louden Whirl-Around, c. 1925
  14. R. B. & Lizzie Louden House, 1871
  15. "The McCafferty Run - Homer Ackley Farmstead". Horizon View.
  16. William C. Page, Joanne R. Walroth. "Midway Stock Farm Barn". National Park Service . Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  17. Wm. R. & Mary Jane Louden Home, 1897