James Cochran designed and manufactured wrenches. The first listing was in 1897 with M M Buck manufacturing and selling Cochran wrenches. This wrench was for patent number 527,592. The next listing is for the Cochran Pipe Wrench Company in De Soto, Missouri in 1903. Kilborne & Bishop were producing the wrenches beginning in 1908. To meet demand, a plant was established in Chicago in 1906 and incorporated in 1910. A new plant was constructed in 1919. Larco Wrench & Forge bought all assets of the company in 1920. Larco moved their equipment into the new building along with the existing machinery. Larco continued their line while changing Cochran Manufacturing & Forging Company to Great Lakes Forge. Products were continued as before.
The following are some of the important patent numbers. The patents also trace James movement from Missouri through Tennessee, Kentucky, and into Illinois.
527,592
597,762
885,322
1,830,033
D48,996
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