Regional History Center Regional Collections W.F. and John Barnes Compan... Finding AidTitle: W.F. and John Barnes Company Records (Rockford), 1878-1963
ID: RHC/RC/123
Extent: 3.5 Linear Feet
Date Acquired: 02/05/1981
Subjects: Barnes, John, Machine-tools, Rockford (Ill.), W. F. & John Barnes Company
Languages: English
The W. F. and John Barnes Company records collection represents a small portion of the documents usually generated by a large industrial firm. Nevertheless, as the only surviving records of this important machine tool corporation, the collection is vitally important to the preservation of the industry’s history.
Records in the collection date from 1878 to 1963 with the bulk of the materials between 1940 and 1962. The first series contains company histories, legal agreements and leases, minutes annual reports, and reports to stockholders detailing organizational changes such as the formation and dissolution of subsidiary industries. Since there are no minutes pre-dating 1931, only the company histories reveal the industry’s beginnings.
Voting trust agreements, correspondence, interdepartmental memoranda, special reports on facets of industrial developments, and financial records comprise the second record series (1878, 1932-1960). Of special note are two shipping registers (1919-1940) recording the names of the companies purchasing equipment, their location and the number or type of machine being shipped. The books are valuable tools for studying the effect of economic conditions on company production and sales statistics.
The final series of the collection consists of printed materials such as catalogs, articles, news releases, and operation plans, architectural drawings, and photographs. A large portion of the photographs portray exterior and interior portions of the factory and chronologically depict additions and alterations made during the 1940’s. Another set of photographs show the construction of the Rockford Ordnance Plant in 1941-1942. The architectural drawings not only detail company facilities, but also machine building specifications.
Researchers should note that there is an extensive company history available in Box 1, Folder 1. The Regional History Center also holds a number of other industrial collections: Rockford Mitten and Hosiery Company, Rockford Chair and Furniture Company, Smith Oil and Refining Company, National Chair Company, Starline, Incorporated, and Westclox, Incorporated (RC 38, 42, 48, 59, 114, 116). Researchers also might consult the local history reference collection for information on northern Illinois industries
While working as a wood model maker for Emerson Talcott and Company of Rockford, Illinois, a manufacturer of harvesting machinery, John Barnes developed a foot powered woodworking tool. When word spread of the invention and orders for the tool began increasing, Barnes sent for his brothers, W. F. and B. Frank, to come help manage the new business. In 1872 the brothers formed a partnership; the W. F. and John Barnes Company incorporated in 1884.
Although B. F. Barnes left the company in 1899 to open a similar company of his own--B. F. Barnes Company-- his brothers consolidated their ideas until they developed the first multiple operation machines for interchangeable parts in the world (1908) The next 30 years produced tremendous expansion in the company’s production line. In 1929 a subsidiary, John S. Barnes Corporation, organized to furnish highly efficient hydraulic equipment. In 1933 they made the first automatic progress-through machine for International Harvestor Company. In 1934 Ford Motor Company ordered one of the first transfer type machines used for diamond-boring cylinders in the motor block. And in 1939, a special honing machine designed for hydraulic cylinders brought in a large number of orders from the airplane industry.
The build-up of defense production in 1940 swelled the orders for machines to assist in the manufacture of guns and ammunition. Barnes underwent several plant enlargements to maintain production levels. Among the company’s newest achievements were: manufacture of a machine for making precision optical components used in gun sights; establishing a chemical division to produce a substance used with optical polishing machines; signing a contract with the War Department in 1940 to build a plant to produce armor piercing projectiles; developing electrical controls and designing circuits. In addition, another subsidiary, Metal Cutting Tools, Incorporated, organized during the war.
After World War II Barnes resumed manufacturing machine tools for automotive and other high production industries. The engineers also devised an extensive line of equipment for handling cans and jars in canning plants; Barnes began working with Quaker Oats, Campbell Soup, Kaiser Aluminum, and Dole Company. Following an investigation of atomic energy, the company began manufacturing teletherapy equipment used in cobalt cancer treatment.
The 1950’s brought both prosperity and decline for the W. F. and John Barnes Company. The product line continued to expand, but following the Korean War orders began to slow down. By 1960, Barnes sold their stock interest in John S. Barnes Corporation and Metal Cutting Tools, Incorporated. The Food and Container Division also began to cut back and in April, 1960 ceased operations.
Early in 1963 the Babcox and Wilcox Company began exploring the establishment of a manufacturing facility capable of producing the component parts of a nuclear industry. Barnes’ experience with atomic energy led Babcox and Wilcox to negotiate an agreement with Barnes. On November 1, 1963 Babcox and Wilcox purchased Barnes’ principal assets, acquired the personnel and facilities of the company, and acquired the W. F. and John Barnes company name.
Repository: Northern Illinois University
Access Restrictions: There are no restrictions on access to the collection.
Use Restrictions: Property rights in the collection belong to the Regional History Center; literary rights are dedicated to the public.
Acquisition Source: Kimball L. Finkenstaedt
Acquisition Method: Kimball L. Finkenstaedt, Rockford, Illinois, donated the W. F. and John Barnes Company records to the Northern Illinois Regional History Center on February 5, 1981.
Related Materials: The Regional History Center also holds a number of other industrial collections: Rockford Mitten and Hosiery Company, Rockford Chair and Furniture Company, Smith Oil and Refining Company, National Chair Company, Starline, Incorporated, and Westclox, Incorporated (RC 38, 42, 48, 59, 114, 116). Researchers also might consult the local history reference collection for information on northern Illinois industries.
