Founded ca 1875 by Pardon G. Armington, Henry Howard and Gardiner C. Sims, both of whom had worked for J. C. Hoadley Co. In 1888 the firm incorporated as the Armington & Sims Engine Co. in Providence, RI. It failed in 1896 and was reorganized as the Eastern Engine Co., which lasted until 1903.
Armington & Sims Co. of Lawrence, Mass. built the Lawrence steam portable engine. The engine used the automatic cut-off, folding smoke stack, and locomotive type boiler. The firm also built the engines that powered Thomas Edison's electric generators. Because of Henry Ford's obsession with Thomas Edison not only are engines from this company preserved but also the shop and machines which were moved casting by casting and brick by brick to the Greenfield Village
in Dearborn, MI.
Information Sources:
- Norbeck, Jack, Encyclopedia of American Steam Traction Engines, Crestline Publishing Inc, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Pg. 41.
- American Steam Engine Builders: 1800-1900 by Kenneth L. Cope, 2006 page 20