The following story has been submitted by the Logan County History Center.
By: Mary E. Mortimer
Founded in 1913 by Ernest H. Harding in East Liberty, the Harding Machine Screw Company supported U.S. efforts during both World Wars, weathered the Great Depression, and employed hundreds throughout its operation.
Ernest H. Harding was born in 1869 on a farm in Perry Township. After completing his studies at the local school, he continued his education at Central Ohio College in East Liberty. To afford his tuition, Harding taught mathematics at the college. Harding married Adah Coates in 1901, and they had one daughter, Phyllis.
In 1913, Harding purchased the former Central College building for approximately $600. He equipped the facility with “one automatic screw machine, one hand screw machine, a drill press, a lathe, a 15-horsepower gasoline engine, and several machine tools.” To help get the business underway, he employed three assistants. Harding’s business principles were to “discount all bills, don’t buy on credit, give incentive pay and bonuses, and pay time and a half for overtime.” These philosophies contributed to the company’s early success.
At the beginning of World War I, Harding traveled to Washington, D.C. where he offered his company’s services for the war effort. His business was subsequently restructured to support military production. During the Depression in 1931, Harding remained committed to maintaining operations and preserving employment. He refused to lay off his employees, instead providing work for them on his farm to avoid reliance on relief programs. In 1932, when bank closures halted payroll, Harding arranged with local grocers to accept employee “due bills” as payment. Business rebounded with new contracts from Detroit’s automobile industry. By 1936, the factory operated twenty hours per day and employed 150 workers. The facility expanded in 1934, 1936, and 1939. Harding Machine received a contract in 1937 to make lumarith bases for the new Zerbee Rotating Toothbrush Co. in Bellefontaine.
In 1941, Harding’s daughter, Phyllis, became plant manager. During WWII, the company once again supported the war effort. The War Department awarded Harding a $107,000 contract to manufacture primer housings and detonator screws. During this period, five Army and four Navy inspectors were stationed on-site, and security measures were strengthened with a gate entrance and guardhouse.
Harding Machine Screw Company received the prestigious Army‑Navy “E” Excellence Production Award on May 25, 1945, for its contributions to the war effort. After World War II, the company expanded its facilities, adding a stockroom, inspection room, heating plant, painting room, additional storage, outside oil storage, machine shop, washroom, water tower, sprinkler system, sewer system, and updated equipment. During this period, Harding also began producing carburetors and components for high‑performance General Motors vehicles, including Oldsmobile and Cadillac models. In 1945, leadership of the company passed to Phyllis Harding and her second husband, Paul T. Blackburn.
Ernest Harding passed away in May 1948, leaving a bequest to Perry Township for the construction of a new township house and community building. The brick facility opened on Main Street in East Liberty in October 1953, providing space for fire equipment, a library, meeting rooms, and offices.
In 1955, the company opened a second factory in Lexington, Tennessee. Five years later, the East Liberty plant expanded to 19,000 square feet and employed 100 workers in Ohio and 50 in Tennessee. In September 1959, Harding Machine chartered two DC3 planes to fly 53 employees to Lexington for the dedication of a new 10,000‑square‑foot addition to the Tennessee plant, followed by a joint employee picnic.
Continued growth led to the construction of a new 40,000‑square‑foot facility two miles south of East Liberty at the intersection of U.S. Route 33 and State Route 287 near Middleburg in 1966. They manufactured distributor parts, parts fittings for hydraulic lines, and aircraft light fittings, employing 125 people.
Paul and Phyllis Blackburn sold Harding Machine Screw Company to Carrier Corporation in 1970 and retired the following year. By 1975, a second plant was added in Lexington, Tennessee. At that time, the company’s three facilities produced more than 100 million parts annually for the automotive, electrical, refrigeration, and air‑conditioning industries.
In 2006, Harding Machine became a division of Global Precision Parts. The company continues to operate facilities in Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa, though the State Route 287 location has since closed.
Visit the Logan County History Center to learn more interesting aspects of Logan County History. The History Center is open for tours Wednesday – Sunday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Admission is free.
