This manufacturer was incorporated in April 1887 by Edward J. Pennington and John C. Peters, with a capitalization of $50,000. At the end of July a major fire damaged the business but they seem to have recovered quickly. Nonetheless, the business seems to have only lasted for a couple of years.

Although they are nearly forgotten now, and only a couple of their machines have been reported, in 1888 they claimed to make a full line of woodworking machinery.

Co-founder Edward J. Pennington was co-inventor on an 1881 patent for a planer cutter-head.

Information Sources

• The Annual Reports of the Officers of State of the State of Indiana for 1887 lists Pennington Machine Works of Fort Wayne as having filed articles of incorporation on April 8, 1887.
• Advertisement in the 1887-11-10 issue of The Wood-Worker that provides a lengthy list of products manufactured.
• Advertisement in the 1888-02-10 issue of The Michigan Artisan, which shows a "$50.00 band res-saw".
• The 1888-06-16 issue of American Machinist carries a small text ad from this firm, who were looking for a superintendent.
• The 1888-07-01 issue of The Hub (a trade magazine for carriage builders) carries the following news item

  THE PENNINGTON MACHINE WORKS of Fort Wayne, Ind., are four or five weeks behind orders. They commenced business in April, ’87, and have enjoyed a constantly increasing trade.

• The R. L. Polk & Co.'s Fort Wayne, Indiana, City Directory for 1888 lists "Pennington Machine Works, incorporated 1886, capital $50,000. Office and works 85 East Columbia. John C. Peters, Pres; Edward J. Pennington, Vice Pres; Perry A Randall, Treas; Emmett H. McDonald, Sec."
• The Railroad, Telegraph, Electric and Steamship Builders' Buyers' Guide and Directory for 1896-97 lists, under makers of woodworking machinery, "Pennington Machine Works, 85 E. Columbia st., Fort Wayne Ind." This is not strong evidence that Pennington Machine Works was still in business in 1896 because these large buyers' guides often list companies for years after their demise.
• Souvenir Book of Indiana State Firemen's Association Convention Held at Fort Wayne, August 10, 11, 12, 1920 has the following item in a timeline of major fires in Fort Wayne.

  [On about 1887-08-02] the city was afflicted with a fire which resulted in a total loss of $45,000, when the buildings at 85, 87, and 89 East Columbia street were gutted. This blaze was discovered at 3:15 o'clock in the morning and the heavy losers in the conflagration were, the Pennington Machine Works...

• The Columbia Street Story, by Roy M. Bates and Kenneth B. Keller, 1975, has the following tidbit that is inconsistent with the previous mention of fire:

  Jacob Weil, a native Switzerland and his heirs were familiar figures on the street for many years. The elder Weil opened a hide and wool business in a building owned by Perry A. Randall on the north side of the block, number 85-87. On July 31, 1887 a roaring fire raced through the building and gutted it; the flames also destroyed the George P. Barnum livery stable at 91 East Columbia but the Pennington Machine Works on the other side of Weil Brothers somehow was saved.