Clinton Engines Museum

This museum explores the history of the Clinton Engines Company, which in the 1950s was one of the world's largest small engine manufacturers and the state's tenth largest employer at its peak. The company operated until 1999 and was known for its innovative ideas and its engines were used in a wide range of machines around the world. The museum is located in the company's former administration building, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. The museum is located in the only building remaining of what was once a sizable manufacturing complex. The museum is operated by the Jackson County Historical Society and houses the Jackson County Research & Family History Library, the Society's Media Arts Center, and the Clinton Engines Association.

The Clinton Engines Company was founded by Don Thomas in 1946 as the Clinton Machine Company. Thomas was born in Traverse City, Michigan in 1908 and as a young man became a bricklayer and construction worker. He was very interested in machines as well and in 1930 opened a gas station in Detroit that offered auto services. He eventually owned seven other service stations as well as an automobile accessory business. During World War II, he manufactured tank turret gears. This venture proved to be so successful that he ran out of space in Detroit and relocated to Clinton, Michigan.

After the war, Thomas predicted that demand for small engines, such as those for lawnmowers, would be high and started manufacturing them. He introduced the first one he called the 700 series in 1946 which was in high demand partly resulting from a strike at a competing company. The company's workforce grew to 1,000 workers by the end of the year. In 1950, Thomas expanded the company in Maquoketa. He bought the administration building, which had been built in 1947 by another manufacturer by the name of C.A. Depue, whose company, called The Maquoketa Company, made machine gun components during the war. Before expanding to Maquoketa, DePue had been serving as president of the Central Steel Tube Company in Clinton, Iowa.

In the early 1950s, the Clinton Machine Company earned a reputation around the world for producing high-quality small engines, mostly for lawnmowers but also for water pumps, washing machines, chain saws, and other products. In 1956, the company was selling its products to 8,500 outlets in the U.S. and Canada where they sold nearly two million units from a product line of 22 basic engine models. The company also operated a service department that had a large directory of repair technicians who were trained at the company's service school. Many of these technicians were from foreign countries. At its peak, the company became the 10th largest employer in the state. It attracted workers from 33 communities in the three states and was a tremendous boost to the local economy. There were several hotels, restaurants, and gas stations operating at the time, and local residents even offered lodging in their homes to workers and service school students.

In 1958, Thomas changed the company's name to Clinton Engines Company and attempted to update the equipment. However, he was unable to obtain enough financial backing to match the scale and pace of innovation of other producers, and he sold the company to a New York investment corporation the next year. Clinton Engines continued to operate but went into bankruptcy in 1966. Operations continued under the next owner but at lower capacity, and then it only made parts for engine repairs. The company finally closed in 1999 and by that time the facility had fallen into disrepair. In 2000, the city acquired the property and in the coming years, all of the buildings except the administration building were torn down.

"The Clinton Engines Museum." Clinton Engines Museum. Accessed November 19, 2021. http://clintonengines.com.

Page, William C. & Page, Joanne R. "Maquoketa Company–Clinton Machine Company Administration Building." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. August 23, 2006. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/06000712_text.