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Oakley Factory Colony, Cincinnati

Elwood1968

Cast Iron
Joined
Jul 30, 2017
Oakley Factory Colony 1938.jpg

In doing some research on Cincinnati Lathe & Tool Co., I came across this photo of the Oakley Factory Colony in 1938, shortly before the pre-WWII expansions by the Cincinnati Milling Machine Co. After some sleuthing with a magnifying glass, I identified (I think) what was CL&T in the center of the photo (building "H", behind the Colony's shared powerhouse and stack). And I believe that some of the other factories were:

A - Cincinnati Milling Machine Co. Plant 1. They basically had the entire east 1/4th of the colony, fronting on Marburg Ave all the way from the B&O Railroad tracks to the north end of the Colony. This complex included the "Modern Foundry", which was built in 1911 as one of the first parts of the new facility to be completed.

B - Parking lot for CMMCo., but shortly (1941) to be the new headquarters and engineering offices.

C - Cincinnati Bickford Tool Co. (radial arm drills, upright drills, jig borers)

D - Cincinnati Planer Co.

E - Built as Triumph Electric & Ice Machine Co., but sold to the Mill in 1926 to become Plant 2, and used for Cincinnati Grinders, Inc.

F - Soon to be the new foundry (1941) for the Mill

G - Eventually home of the Mill's Milling Products Division, makers of synthetic milling coolants (Cimcool), and the only part of the complex still in use today

H - Cincinnati Lathe & Tool Co. (lathes and drill presses), sold to the Mill in 1945 and became Plant 4. Eventually demolished and replaced by the Mill's corporate R&D facility.

J - Colony shared power plant

K - Unknown

L - Unknown

M - CMMCo. employee lodge and recreation facilities

N - Baltimore & Ohio company yard (the Colony was also served by the Pennsylvania and Norfolk & Western railroads from the northwest corner)

Alvey-Ferguson Company (manufacturer of conveyors and power transmission equipment) and Cincinnati Ball Crank Co. were also located in the colony, and may be "K" and "L".

So some questions:

1. Does anyone know which buildings were Alvey-Ferguson and Cincinnati Ball Crank?

2. Was the building occupied by Cincinnati Planer ("D") eventually acquired by the Mill, and if so, what was it used for?

3. Cincinnati-Bickford was bought by Giddings & Lewis in 1955, but when did they move out of building "C"? What was it used for after that date?
 
Is any of this still standing?

None of the buildings in the Colony in that photograph are still there. With the exception of the Cimcool plant in the northwest corner (not yet built in 1938), all of the Colony factories have been bulldozed and redeveloped as mixed use retail and apartments. Unlike the second LeBlond factory down the road, nothing was saved.
 
View attachment 280075
2. Was the building occupied by Cincinnati Planer ("D") eventually acquired by the Mill, and if so, what was it used for?

3. Cincinnati-Bickford was bought by Giddings & Lewis in 1955, but when did they move out of building "C"? What was it used for after that date?

The Cincinnati Planer building was occupied by Kirk & Blum, a sheetmetal and welding/fabrication business.

As I recall, G&L Bickford experienced a prolonged strike around 1960 and subsequently, that business was relocated to G&L Fon du Lac. Cincinnati Milling Machine acquired the property and it became Plant 3. Composite tape laying machines and rebuild/retrofit were in Plant 3 as were industrial robots before the Greenwood SC facility opened. When the Turning Division in Wilmington, Ohio closed in 1991, Cinturn CNC lathes were built in Plant 3.

Mike
 
Found another aerial photo of the Oakley complex, this one from a Cincinnati full-line catalog dating to the late 1950s or early 1960s. Looking towards the west, this image shows the new headquarters/engineering building (1) in the lower right (i.e. the northeast corner of the complex), and the new Milling Products Division building (5), which became Cimcool and is still standing and in use. The "new" foundry (4) at the far west end of the complex is also shown. The old Cincinnati Lathe & Tool (by now re-located to the new plant north of Cincinnati in Wilmington, Ohio) building is now the "Meta-Dynamics Division," building (6).

Scan.jpg
 








 
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