Glover Machine Works, 651 Butler Street, Marietta

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA,34-MARI,2-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

651 Butler Street, Marietta, Georgia Dates of Significance established; site demolished Significance Glover Machine Works has the distinction of being the oldest family owned manufacturing industry in Georgia. During its time in Marietta, it was a small but well established company producing small-to-medium machinery and fittings, steam hoisting engines and logging skidders (both stationary and rail-mounted versions) and locomotives on a modest scale. Description: The plant was typical for its time period. The site included an iron foundry, a machine shop, fabrication and pattern shops. A small company on the edge of a small southern town, Glover was not under pressure to scrap machinery and dispose of records.

One of the buildings housed a collection of hundreds of hardwood patterns from which individual parts of steam power equipment were cast. Historical Overview: Beginning operation in the company was closed by Union forces during the Civil War and re-established after the conflict ended. In the company began producing machinery used in logging and quarrying marble. Soon customers requested the production of steam locomotives and replacement locomotive parts. Until the company manufactured approximately 200 railroad steam locomotives used in Georgia's marble quarrying and logging industries. Although the company did not offer railroad rolling stock as a stock item, the company built some locomotives to order and rebuilt used locomotives.

In the the Glovers moved the foundry to a site in Cordele, Georgia, where it is active today. Since locomotive parts were so regularly and steadily ordered, complete records of the locomotive parts still exist in the Glover archives along with 800 to 900 glass plate negatives that provide photographic records of most of Glover's products.