Darby Corporation records

Restrictions: None

Abstract: Administrative records, correspondence and other files pertaining to the corporation, stock, finances, legal policy, insurance, licensing, leases & property, union matters, and contracts; a small quantity of personal papers & files of Harry Darby, Jr.; records identified by the Darby family or the Darby Corporation staff as "archival"; account books & related records pertaining to financial transactions; payroll registers, account books, & related records; legal documents; engineering records typically consisting of orders, specifications, drawings, materials lists, & other documents relating primarily to water towers & other pressure vessels; records relating to the manufacture of rail cars & equipment; and separate engineering work orders & project files for the subsidiary Leavenworth Steel Co.

Summary:
Series Descriptions

NOTE: This description is based primarily on box descriptions and labels augmented by some verification as the records were re-boxed. As additional archival work is performed on this collection, descriptions will undoubtedly become more complete and accurate. The information presented herein should be taken as preliminary and incomplete. A box list is on the Kansas Historical Society's website at http://www.kshs.org/research/collections/documents/businessrecords/business_records_findingaids/darby_corporation_records.pdf

No attempt has been made at this time to physically rearrange the boxes into series.

Ser. 1. ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, 1932-1986. 91 cu. ft.

Correspondence and other records primarily pertaining to the corporation & its stock, financial & legal policy, insurance, licensing, leases & property, union matters, and contracts. Includes advertising & promotional materials, plant accident reports, memorabilia, minutes, patents, photographs, and publications.

Ser. 2. HARRY DARBY PERSONAL PAPERS, 1930-1986 (bulk 1930-1932, 1986). 5 cu. ft.

A small quantity of personal papers and files of Harry Darby, Jr. Most (513 ft.) of Harry Darby’s personal papers, 1925-1985, are at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library (Abilene, Kans.)

Ser. 3. “ARCHIVES” RECORDS, 1981-1983. 15 cu. ft.

Records identified by the Darby family or the Darby Corporation staff as “archival,” possibly intended for the Eisenhower Library, but not included in the records and papers sent to them. The boxes are mostly labeled Abilene with no additional contents information.

Ser. 4. ACCOUNTING RECORDS, 1928-1985. 37 cu. ft.

Account books, checks, work papers, invoices, vouchers, purchase orders, financial correspondence, statements, and related records pertaining to financial transactions.

Ser. 5. PAYROLL RECORDS, 1946-1985. 8 cu. ft.

Payroll registers and related records relating to wages and salaries of employees.

Ser. 6. ENGINEERING RECORDS, 1941-[1989?] 218 cu. ft.

Records relating to specific jobs or projects undertaken by the firm. Included are estimates & quotations, blueprints, orders, engineering files & drawings, and testing data relating to landing craft, water towers & related structures, and pressure vessels. Projects pertaining to rail cars are described in Ser. 7, below.

Arranged primarily by project or order number.

Ser. 7. RAILROAD CARS RECORDS, 1946-1982. 96 cu. ft.

Correspondence, estimates, financial documentation, project files & drawings, and related records pertaining to the construction of rail cars, rail auto racks, and similar equipment. Included are accident reports.

Files are arranged by project number. Some are organized by client name.

Ser. 8. LEAVENWORTH STEEL RECORDS, 1973-1985. 16 cu. ft.

Engineering work orders and project files for jobs performed by the Leavenworth Steel Co. in its Leavenworth and Coffeyville, Kans., plants. Included are corporate minutes for the firm.

Project files arranged by project number.

Language note: Text is in English.

Administrative History:

Harry Darby, Sr., started the Missouri Boiler Works Company in Kansas City in 1895. Later he moved the firm to Kansas City, Kansas, and changed its name in 1904 to the Darby Products of Steel Plate Corporation. After Darby's death in 1923, his son — Harry Darby, Jr. — bought the company and established Darby Steel Company. The firm grew steadily until the Great Depression of the 1930s, when Darby was forced to lay off half his workforce. Despite setbacks, in 1938 Darby purchased the Kaw Steel Construction Company which was in bankruptcy. From the two firms, he formed the Darby Corporation.

In World War II, the Darby Corporation made bombs and other war materiel, but it was best known for its amphibious landing craft, known as LCTs (Landing Craft, Tanks) and LCMs (Landing Craft, Mechanized). Production increased to one ship per day or approximately 1400 for the duration of the War. Ships were floated down the Kansas, Missouri, and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans for launching. The military used Darby manufactured craft in the invasions of Italy, France, and islands in the Pacific Ocean. The company was also a major producer of railroad locomotives and 1000 pound bombs. At its height, the Darby Corporation was one of the largest steel plate manufacturing enterprises in the United States.

After the War, the company continued to fabricate steel plate and other products, particularly water towers and railroad equipment. In 1954 a subsidiary, Darby Railway Cars, incorporated in Kansas. The Darby Corporation acquired Leavenworth Steel Company and opened a subsidiary plant in Coffeyville, Kansas. The Darby Corporation closed in 1989, two years after the death of Harry Darby, Jr.

Scope and content:

This description is based primarily on box descriptions and labels augmented by some verification as the records were re-boxed. As additional archival work is performed on this collection, descriptions will undoubtedly become more complete and accurate. The information presented herein should be taken as preliminary and incomplete.

The records appear to have been organized into broad areas that have been incorporated as archival series in this finding aid: administrative records, personal papers of Harry Darby, “archives” records, accounting records, payroll records, engineering records, railroad cars records, and Leavenworth Steel records. More details about each of these series are found in the Series Description section, above. A box list is on the Kansas Historical Society's website at http://www.kshs.org/research/collections/documents/businessrecords/business_records_findingaids/darby_corporation_records.pdf

The largest series, and clearly the focus of this collection, is the Engineering Records, series 6, above. These typically consist of orders, specifications, drawings, materials lists, and related documents. These records relate primarily to water towers and related structures and other kinds of pressure vessels.

Closely related to the Engineering Records are the Railroad Cars Records, series 7. These files contain similar items as the Engineering Records series but relate to rail cars, railroad equipment, and automobile racks on rail cars.

Separate from the records of the Darby Corporation in Kansas City are the engineering work orders and project files for jobs performed by the subsidiary Leavenworth Steel Co. in its Leavenworth and Coffeyville, Kansas, plants. Included are corporate minutes for Leavenworth Steel Company.

The collection also contains a small quantity, five cubic feet, of personal papers and files of Harry Darby, Jr. However, most of Harry Darby’s personal papers, 1925 – 1985, 513 feet, were donated to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library (Abilene, Kans.) At the present time (2009), access to the personal papers at the Eisenhower Library is closed pending processing.

The Eisenhower Library also holds 168 feet of Darby Corporation records for the period 1942 – 1946. At the present time (2009), access is closed pending processing.

Contents: Ser. 1. Administrative records, 1932-1986 (91 cu. ft.) -- ser. 2. Harry Darby personal papers, 1930-1986 (bulk 1930-1932, 1986) (5 cu. ft.) -- ser. 3. "Archives" records, 1981-1983 (15 cu. ft.) -- ser. 4. Accounting records, 1928-1985 (37 cu. ft.) -- ser. 5. Payroll records, 1946-1985 (8 cu. ft.) -- ser. 6. Engineering records, 1941-[1989?] (218 cu. ft.) -- ser. 7. Railroad cars records, 1946-1982 (96 cu. ft.) -- ser. 8. Leavenworth Steel records, 1973-1985 (16 cu. ft.)

Associated materials:

Other Darby Corporation Records, 1942-1946, 168 ft., and Harry Darby Papers, 1925-1985, 513 ft., are at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library (Abilene, Kan.); https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/finding-aids/darby-corporation

Other Harry Darby papers, [ca. 1946]-1986, 22 cubic ft., are at the State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City: collection K0719; https://collections.shsmo.org/manuscripts/kansas-city/k0719

Other Harry Darby papers, 0.3 ft., are at the University of Illinois Archives (Champaign): ser. 26/20/71; http://archives.library.illinois.edu/archon/?p=collections/controlcard&id=4387

Other Finding Aid/Index: Finding aid available from the Kansas State Historical Society and on its website, http://www.kshs.org/research/collections/documents/businessrecords/business_records_findingaids/darby_corporation_records.pdf

Related materials:

All of the microfilm listed below is available through interlibrary loan; cf. http://www.kshs.org/library/illpoli.htm.

Gene Anderson, collector. CRI&P locomotive and food service car designs ; Pullman car lists, 1917 – 1950 (Microfilm MS 768)

Willard J. Breidenthal papers, 1934 – 1937 (Ms. Collection [MC] 4)

Joseph A. Butler & Son Funeral Home records (Microfilm MS 1600 – MS 1624)

Bryan O. Foreman papers (Sunflower Ordnance Works documents), 1941 – 1945 (MC 805)

Charles Sumner Gleed papers, 1876 – 1928 (MC 34)

Hiram Hill papers, 1823 – 1910 (MC 382)

Lewis Walter Keplinger papers, 1882 – 1928 (MS 739)

McEntire-Brooke family papers, 1758 – 1982 (MC 426)

Rex W. Maneval papers, 1939 – 1974 (MC 128)

Holly Marks Reichart papers, 1929 – 1972 (MC 220)

Finding Aid Bibliography:

Colton, Tim. Shipbuilding History: 85 World War Two Emergency Shipbuilders: Darby Steel Plate Corporation: “Darby Corporation, Kansas City, KS,” http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergency/wwtwo/darby.htm, viewed 25 Apr. 2009.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. Welcome to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum: Research: Finding Aids: D: “D,” http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/D.html, viewed 11 July 2009.

“Harry Darby,” Wikipedia: English: Contents: Complete Alphabetical Index: Darby: Darby (name): Harry Darby, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Darby, viewed 25 Apr. 2009.

Kansas, Secretary of State. Kansas Secretary of State: Business Filing Center: Business Entities: Perform a Business Entity Search: Business Entity Database: By a Keyword: Darby: “Searched: Darby,” http://www.accesskansas.org/srv-corporations/keywordSearch.do, accessed 11 July 2009.

Kansas Business Hall of Fame. Welcome to Emporia State University: Academics: Colleges - Schools: School of Business Homepage: Community: KBHF: Contemporary: Harry Darby: “Contemporary Honors Award Recipient: Harry Darby, 1996, Industrialist and Patriot,” http://www.emporia.edu/business/kbhfcontdetail.php?k_id=29, viewed 25 Apr. 2009.

Restrictions: None

Use and reproduction:

Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). The user is cautioned that the publication of the contents of this collection may be construed as constituting a violation of literary property rights. These rights derive from the principle of common law, affirmed in the copyright law of 1976 as amended, that the writer of an unpublished letter or other manuscript has the sole right to publish the contents thereof unless he or she affirmatively parts with that right; the right descends to his or her legal heirs regardless of the ownership of the physical manuscript itself. It is the responsibility of a user or his or her publisher to secure the permission of the owner of literary property rights in unpublished writing.

Copyright was transferred to the Kansas State Historical Society (Topeka) upon donation.

Cite as: Darby Corporation records, ms. collection 812, State Archives & Library, Kansas Historical Society.

Action note: Initial description by Robert L. Knecht and Robert A. McInnes, [ca. 1996]; box list and additional description by Robert L. Knecht and John W. Knecht, volunteer, 2007; preliminary collection register by Robert L. Knecht, 2009. Some drawings and records have not yet been inventoried.

Accumulation/Freq. Of Use: No additions to the collection are anticipated.