The New England Wireless and Steam Museum

The company was originally known as Fairbanks, Clark & Co. in the 1830s. In 1843 it was renamed Fairbanks, Bancroft & Co. when Edward Bancroft joined the company. In 1846 it was renamed Bancroft, Nightingale & Co. when Corliss joined the company, and in 1847 it was renamed Corliss, Nightingale and Co. In 1848 the company moved to the location shown in the images above at the Charles Street Railroad Crossing. In 1857 the company was renamed for the last time to Corliss Steam Engine Company. By 1864 Corliss bought out his partners and was the sole owner of the company. George H. Corliss' house can be seen in the middle letter-head behind the factory to the right. In 1900 the Corliss Steam Engine Company was purchased by the International Power Company. The fourth image above shows the factory in 1904. In 1905 it was purchased by the American and British Manufacturing Company. In 1925 the company merged into Franklin Machine Company. By then Franklin Machine Company already owned the William A. Harris Steam Engine Company.

I visited the site in March of 2001. The site of the factory is now the parking lot for the Providence Post office. I did see a building that looks like it could be the original boiler shop. I will investigate further. The overhead image above shows the factory site in 1995.

Corliss' most famous engine was the Centenial Engine that powered the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, PA.

Corliss Spider 5 Cylinder Radial Water Pumping Engine, Hope Pumping Station, Providence, RI. ca. 1873.

The Museum has the only George H. Corliss engine running under steam.