Records document the activities of the Hoopes, Bro. & Darlington Company, manufacturers of wooden wheels in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Content Description:
Records document the activities of the Hoopes, Bro. & Darlington Company in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a manufacturer of wooden spokes for wheels. Materials include photographs, blueprints, price lists, catalogs, patents, correspondence, articles, film scripts and other supplemental documention for the film, "The Last Wheel Works: The Industrial Archaeology of a Wood Wheel Manufactory," and an oral history transcript with Thomas Hoopes, Jr.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Operational Records, 1885-1964
Series 2: Patent Materials, 1834-1936
Series 3: Drawings, 1867-1955
Series 4: The Last Wheel Works Film Project Records, 1968-1969, 1978
Historical:
Hoopes Bro. & Darlington Wheel Works of West Chester, Pennsylvania was founded in 1867 by William and Thomas Hoopes to manufacture wooden wheels for carriages, wagons, and later automobile and motor truck wheels. In 1868, their cousin Edward S. Darlington joined the company. The company also made baseball bats and skis.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series Wagons, NMAH.AC.0060
Hagan Brothers Carriage and Wagonmakers records, NMAH.AC.1154
Samuel J. Meeks Carriage Works Records, NMAH.AC.1502
James Cunningham, Son and Company records, NMAH.AC.1193
Materials at Other Organizations
Hagley Museum and Library
The Hoopes Brothers & Darlington Inc. photograph collection (Accession 1969.099)
Collection consists of miscellaneous images from the company, largely dating between 1900 and 1948, as well as advertising material and letterheads. The photographs include images of the company's exhibit at the 1876 International Exposition in Philadelphia; an unidentified ca. 1890 trade show; their saw mill in Jackson, Mississippi, ca. 1910; various models of wooden wheels; two automobiles with wooden wheels; and views of the factory.
The Last Wheel Works: The Industrial Archaeology of a Wood Wheel Manufactory
16 mm film produced in 1975 and sponsored by the Smithsonian and the Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation about the manufacturing process employed by Hoopes Brothers & Darlington, a wooden wheel producer located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The film details each step required to fashion a 16-spoke carriage wheel from raw lumber. Directed by Peter H. Smith and Robert M. Vogel. Written by Pierce Atkins. Filmed by Albert J. Robinson and Frank T. Herzog. Post Production by John W. Hiller and Karen Loveland. Technical support by Robert A. Howard, John D. Milner, Julia F. Davis, and Don Berkebile. With financial support from the Raymond John Wean Foundation.
Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, Pennsylvania
Thomas Hoopes Family Papers, 1876-1890
The bulk of the documents were written between 1876 and 1890, and addressed to Amanda Hoopes (unless otherwise indicated). Many of the letters were written by various members of the extended family, but a considerable amount of them were written by Thomas and sent to Amanda while she was residing in Elmira, New York. Also included are a collection of stamps and several blank postcards and envelopes.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
