Collection #s:
M 0592
OM 0270

MARMON MOTOR CAR CO.
RECORDS, 1917–1953 (BULK 1924–1933)

Processed by:
Paul Brockman
17 December 1991
Updated 26 January 2005

Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269

www.indianahistory.org

collection INFORMATION

VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 1 box, oversize folder (.45 linear feet)

COLLECTION DATES: Inclusive 1917-1953; Bulk, 1924-1933.

PROVENANCE: Dr. and Mrs. Robert W. Greenleaf, Indianapolis, Indiana, 5 June 1990

RESTRICTIONS: None

ALTERNATE FORMATS: None

OTHER FINDING AIDS: None

RELATED HOLDINGS: Wallace Spencer Huffman Collection (M 159); Hanley, George Philip, The Marmon Heritage (TL 215, .M33, H 36, 1985); The Roosevelt: Marmon Built (pam q, TL 215, .M 33 R 6, 1929).

ACCESSION NUMBER: 1990.0341

The Marmon Company began operations in Richmond, Indiana, in 1851 as a manufacturer of millstones. The company was founded by Daniel Marmon and Addison Nordyke and was called the Nordyke and Marmon Company. The company moved to Indianapolis in the 1870s where it evolved into one of the world's leading producers of milling machinery. Marmon's sons, Walter and Arthur, became involved in the company around the turn of the century. Both engineering graduates, Walter assumed a role in the management facets while Arthur was concerned with the engineering aspects. In 1902 Arthur designed and produced the company's first motor car which featured the first use of a pressure lubricated crankshaft and rod bearings. In 1911 the company produced the first Indianapolis 500 winner in Ray Harroun's Wasp. Arthur Marmon and his staff were leaders in automotive design pioneering. In the late 1910s the Model 34 was noted for its use of aluminum, making it much lighter than its competitors. Marmon also experimented in designing 12 and 16 cylinder engines. In 1926 the name of the company was changed to the Marmon Motor Car Company. The company met with hard times during the Depression of the 1930s, and by the time it went into receivership in May, 1933, it was only producing an expensive, but well received, 16 cylinder car.

Walter Marmon became the company's secretary when his father died in 1909. He later became president and was named chairman of the board in 1924. In 1931 he formed a partnership with Arthur D. Herrington in the manufacturing of trucks under the name of the Marmon-Herrington Company, the truck production division of the Marmon Motor Car Company. The Marmon-Herrington Company remained in business after the motor car company went into receivership, and it later acquired and moved to the defunct Duesenberg Company plant on West Washington and Harding streets in Indianapolis. The company continued producing heavy duty, all wheel drive trucks until it ceased operations in 1964.

Sources:
Indianapolis Star, 16 March 1980, Sec. 5, pp. 2-3.
Huffman Collection, Indiana Historical Society Library.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The records contain the meeting minutes of the board of directors and the stockholders of the Nordyke and Marmon/Marmon Motor Car Company, May, 1924-1935. Most of the information contained refers to the company's financial status. The minutes are comprised of proceedings, agreements, resolutions, stocks, and some correspondence. There are also the special meeting minutes for the board of directors.

Also included in the collection are publications, newsclippings, and publicity regarding the company's history and its automobile production. There is also a portfolio for a twelve cylinder engine, n.d. In addition, the collection contains the performance results for a new Marmon-Herrington heavy duty truck and trailer tested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 1932.

The minutes were originally bound in two volumes, but were removed for better storage. Folders 1-4 comprised the first volume, and folders 5-7 comprised the second volume. The materials appear in their original order. Folder 4 appeared at the end of the first volume, out of chronological order.

BOX AND FOLDER LISTING

BOX 1: Records, 1917-1953
FOLDER CONTENTS

1: Board Meeting Minutes, May, 1924-1927

2: Board Meeting Minutes, 1928-1929

3: Board Meeting Minutes, 1930-May, 1931

4: Meeting Minutes, 1926-1927

5: Board Meeting Minutes, May, 1931-Dec., 1931

6: Board Meeting Minutes, 1932-Feb, 1933 1935

7: Board Minutes, 5 January 1933

8: Nordyke Marmon Co.: An Institution, 1920

9: Newsletter and Pamphlets, 1920-1935

10: Marmon Book of Facts, 1926

11: Marmon-Herrington Truck Test Results, 1932

12: Publicity for New Truck, 1932

13: Special Marmon Convention Section, Indianapolis Star, 3 January 1926 (photocopies)

14: Photocopies from newspaper articles, 1917-1953

15: (OM 0270) Portfolio for Twelve Cylinder Engine, n.d.

16: (VC) Photographs Relating to Marmon Company

CATALOGING INFORMATION

For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:

1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/

2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.

3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.

4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, M 0592).

5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.

Collection #s: M 0592 OM 0270