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Manufacturers Index - Emerson-Brantingham Co.

Emerson-Brantingham Co.
Rockford, IL, U.S.A.
Manufacturer Class: Wood Working Machinery & Steam and Gas Engines

History
Last Modified: Jul 26 2023 9:15AM by Jeff_Joslin
If you have information to add to this entry, please contact the Site Historian.

This name came into existence in 1909, but can trace its roots back to 1852. It ancestry is summarized as follows:

  • 1852: J. H. Manny & Co. founded.
  • 1854: Name changed to Manny & Co.
  • 1860: Name changed to Talcott, Emerson, & Co.
  • 1860: Name changed to Emerson & Co.
  • 1871: Name changed to Emerson & Talcott
  • 1895: Name changed to Emerson Manufacturing. Co.
  • 1909: Name changed to Emerson-Brantingham Co.
  • 1912: Acquired sawmill makers Geiser Manufacturing Co. and Reeves & Co.
  • 1912: Acquired the Rockford Engine Works
  • 1928: Sold to J. I. Case & Co.
The name Emerson-Brantingham Implement Co. is also seen, as is Emerson-Brantingham Corp. The former name was apparently used for the tillage division; the latter replaced the Company incarnation at roughly the beginning of 1926.

Information Sources

  • 2003 book, Rockford-1900-World War I, by Eric A. Johnson, page 52, photo caption.
    Emerson-Brantingham Co. Advertising Card, 1912. From 1852-1970, Rockford was a major manufacturer of agricultural implements thanks to John H. Manny & Co. and its successors: Emerson, Talcott & Co., Emerson-Brantingham Co., and Racine, Wisconsin-based J. I. Case Company's "Rockford Works." By World War I, Emerson-Brantingham's sprawling 1,700-employee manufacturing facility encompassed a 24-building, 175-acre copmlex at 500 South Independence Avenue that was regarded as the world's largest infrastructure for manufacturing agricultural machinery. Emerson-Brantingham struggled for a decade before its 1928 acquisition by Case, which closed its aging Rockford operations in 1970. Unable to find a buyer for its sprawling Rockford Works, Case donated the site and its 1.4 million-square-feet of buildings to the City of Rockford for use as the City Yards.
  • Listed in C. H. Wendel's "The Circular Sawmill", which says, "After buying out Geiser Manufacturing Co. at York, PA, the Emerson-Brantingham Co. at Rockford, IL continued building sawmills for a time under the E-B trademark." He reproduces an illustration from a 1914 catalog.
  • 1916 catalog that says, "Established 1852." 1919 catalog of "Reeves-Peerless Geiser Machinery", including Geiser sawmills
  • This company was assigned patents as late as June of 1930, but these post-1928 patents had all been submitted before November of 1928.
  • A web site dedicated to Emerson-Brantingham provides more detailed history, with a focus on their farm machinery. Much of the information we have on the corporate evolution is courtesy of that site. Thanks to John R. Brantingham and family for making that information available.
  • The Scripophily web site has the exact same text as the above site; Scripophily appears to have plagiarized it.
  • The data on "Emerson-Brantingham Implement Co." and "Emerson-Brantingham Corp." is from a personal communication with John R. Brantingham. The estimated transition date from "Co." to "Corp." is from patent records.
  • American Gasoline Engines Since 1872 by C. H. Wendel, Volume #1, 1983 page 150
  • The Complete Guide to Stationary Gas Engines by Mark Meincke, 1996 page 116