Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Hahn (Stanley C.) Collection
Ms73
No online items
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Hahn (Stanley C.) Collection
Date (inclusive): 1933-1979
Date (bulk): bulk 1935-1937
Collection Number: Ms73
Location:
Erickson Vault
Extent:
1.5 linear feet
Contributing Institution:
San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum
11793 North Micke Grove Road
Lodi, CA 95240
Language of Material: Records written in English
Abstract: The materials in the collection supply a picture of the growth of an internationally successful company through the period
of the Great Depression, as well as the development of the machines important to the farmers and developers in California
and across the world. The collection consists of draftsman’s drawings and blueprints as well as company publications and photographs
of equipment, the majority collected during the employment of Stanley Hahn with R. G. LeTourneau, Inc., an internationally
respected earthmoving company. The bulk of the collection dates between the years of 1935 and 1937, when Hahn was employed
by LeTourneau, and includes related items connected to that company and collected in subsequent years. The collection includes
additional items from Hahn’s employment between 1936 and 1943 with Capps Brothers, steel fabricators and machinery builders
in Stockton, California.
Access Information
Collection is open for research by appointment.
Conditions of Use
The library can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claimants of literary
property.
Preferred citation: [Item name], Stanley C. Hahn Collection, Ms73, San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum, Lodi,
California.
Related Material
Title: Agricultural Technology Manuals,
Date (inclusive): 1893-2000 (Ms81)
Title: Kerr (Andrew C.) Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1927-1939 (Ms80)
Stanley C. Hahn (1908-2008) graduated from Stockton High School in 1929 and took his first full-time job with R. G. LeTourneau,
Inc., as a draftsman. Known as the “Dean of Earthmoving,” Robert G. LeTourneau (1888-1969) established R. G. LeTourneau, Inc.,
in 1929, combining a contracting business with the manufacture of earthmoving equipment. By 1933, the company dropped out
of contracting altogether to concentrate on the manufacturing side of the business. Working with other draftsmen, Hahn created
blueprints for numerous machines designed for heavy earthmoving projects. When the company moved its main offices in 1935
to Peoria, Illinois, Hahn relocated briefly to Sunnyvale, California, where he worked for the Wooldridge Company. He returned
to Stockton the following year and was employed by Capps Brothers, steel fabricators and machinists. Capps Brothers had bought
the rights to the Laurence L. Miller Almond Huller, and Hahn created blueprints detailing the huller. He also worked on projects
constructing parts for the Holt Combine and for Stevens Boat Works, in Stockton, California.
In 1943, Stanley Hahn and his wife Lydia bought the H and M Tractor Company in Stockton, renaming it the Hahn Tractor Company.
The focus of the business at that time was manufacturing equipment. In 1945, Hahn partnered with Ashley Mehrten to devise
and fabricate the first rice combine in the San Joaquin Valley. Soon after, Hahn established the first Oliver tractor dealership
in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Though manufacturing remained its focus, the company added a tractor repair and parts
division and eventually a rental fleet to its ventures.
The Stanley C. Hahn Collection consists of papers from the files of Stanley Hahn, a mechanical draftsman, who began his career
with R. G. LeTourneau, Inc. The bulk of the collection dates between the years of 1935 and 1937, when Hahn was employed by
LeTourneau. It also includes items from his employment in 1936-1943 with Capps Brothers, steel fabricators and machinery builders
in Stockton, California. The collection contains original draftsmen’s drawings and blueprints, administrative records and
sales information, newsletters and newspaper articles, price lists, parts catalogs, company informational binders, and photographs.
Of particular interest are the original draftsman’s materials showing the details of machinery development. Also of interest
are copies of salesgrams and two series of different LeTourneau newsletters illustrating the inner workings of the company.
The collection consists of four series: 1. Original Materials by Stanley C. Hahn, 2. Publications of R. G. LeTourneau, Inc.,
3. Photographs, and 4. Oversize.
Hahn, Stanley C. (1908-2008)
Caterpillar Tractor Company
R. G. LeTourneau, Inc.
Hahn Tractor Company
Tractor Industry--United States
Caterpillar Tractor Company--History
LeTourneau, Robert G. (Robert Gilmore), 1888-1969