Calumet Regional Archives

Inventory

22.50 Linear Feet
June 1987
Revised March 2000; Sept. 2006

Introduction

The Modulus Division of RBS Industries, through Ms. Betty Polston, deposited the Gary Screw and Bolt Company Records in the Calumet Regional Archives on February 26, 1987.

Property rights in the collection are held by the Calumet Regional Archives; literary rights are dedicated to the public. There are no restrictions on access to the collection; researchers must agree to avoid publishing names of individuals in the Personnel Series of the collection.

Linear Feet of Shelf Space: 22.50 Linear Feet.
Number of Containers: 18 boxes, 33 volumes.
Calumet Regional Archives Collection 261.
Arranged and Described By: Stephen McShane
Date: June 1987

Scope and Content

The Gary Screw and Bolt Company Records furnish information on the history of this long-standing firm from 1912 to 1968. The collection comprises three major series: financial records, personnel records, and labor records.

Correspondence from the accounting department (1926-1940), and general and voucher ledgers constitute the financial series. The correspondence details basic data on purchases, dividends, insurance, and taxes; many of these documents are communications between the Gary Plant and its parent company in Pittsburgh. Researchers should note that the correspondence is arranged alphabetically, both by subject and correspondent. Useful statistics on the company may be found in U.S. Department of Commerce reports filed in the "C" folder. The tax returns focus upon individual workers' earnings.

As in the financial records series, correspondence provides the most interesting information in the personnel series. Letters from workers describe paychecks, personal situations, and job relocation; some documents deal with finding jobs in the defense industry during WWII. Of special interest is a set of employee cards (1915-1949) located in Boxes 7 through 17. These items detail basic personnel data as well as ethnicity, rate of pay and job status. They might be particularly useful to researchers of ethnic/worker history. In addition, the series also contains a complete run of payroll ledgers, 1914-1946, as well as files of accident and health reports, (1953-1954, 1960-1968).

Finally, a valuable series of labor records (1933-1959) documents the activities of USWA Local 1009, one of the oldest steelworker locals in the Calumet Region. Runs of correspondence and memoranda (1934-1959) offer insight into the needs of screw and bolt workers, revealing a unique perspective in comparison to steelworkers in the basic steel industry. These files also contain data on female workers, the effects of WW II, and strikes. Of particular interest in the series is a file of Shop Notices (1921-1925, Box 6, File 24) and early employee representation plans (Box 6, File 18).

Although the collection is incomplete, the Gary Screw and Bolt Records yield useful information on one of northwest Indiana's oldest manufacturing firms. For additional information on area business, industry, and labor history, researchers should consult the Calumet Regional Archives' basic collection list and subject index.

Historical Sketch

Recognized as one of the few early Gary industries independent of the U.S. Steel Corporation, the Gary Screw and Bolt Company enjoyed a successful seventy-five year life in northwest Indiana. In 1911, a group of Pittsburgh Screw and Bolt Corporation executives founded the Gary Screw and Bolt Company of Indiana on twenty acres of vacant land along East 7th Avenue. Production began in 1912 with 75-100 workers. In 1925, the Gary Company expanded to include the Continental Bolt and Iron Works in Chicago; five years later, the firm acquired the Hammond Bolt and Nut Company. Eventually, the Chicago and Hammond operations were consolidated at the Gary plant. The Company's executive offices remained in the Peoples Gas Building at 122 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

By 1940, the plant became known as one of the largest manufacturers of bolt, nut, and rivet products in the country, including threaded rods and special fasteners. Railroads, capital goods manufacturers the automotive and farm machinery industries, and steel construction fabricators constituted the major customers at the Company. During optimum conditions, 4,000 tons of finished product per month were produced at the Gary plant; employment grew to 700 workers.

In 1947, a major fire resulted in a forty percent reduction in plant output. The disaster resulted from a short circuit in a crane runway, when a spark flew on to a wood housing over machinery; one worker suffered minor burns. In 1951, company directors authorized a one million dollar modernization and expansion program for the Gary plant complex, and by 1956, 900 persons worked for Gary Screw and Bolt.

By the 1980s, the company had been acquired by the Modulus Division of RBS Industries and had enjoyed a prosperous history. Unfortunately, the economic climate had changed, and the Gary plant had become unprofitable, particularly because of imports. In April 1986, RBS filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and won the right to sell the Gary plant's equipment to a liquidator. The plant officially closed its doors on December 31, 1986.

Subject Tracings

• Business
• Collective Bargaining
• Continental Bolt and Iron
• Ethnic Groups
• Hammond (Ind.)
• Hammond Bolt and Nut Company
• Health
• Industry
• Labor
• Modulus Corporation
• Pittsburgh Screw and Bolt Company
• Steel
• Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC)
• Strikes
• Unions
• United Steelworkers of America
• Wages
• World War II