History of Orr & Lockett Hardware Co.

Cement and Engineering News, Vol. 18 ,1906

Orr & Lockett Hardware Co. of Chicago, IL, manufactured door and window hardware, knives, and hardware specialties around the turn of the 19th century. Their products included a complete line of cement tools as well as asphalt paving tools, which they advertised to the contractor trade from 1901 to 1906 and possibly longer.

Orr & Lockett was founded in 1872, with offices at 14-16 West State St., and its longstanding president was Oswald Lockett. His sons Harold and Kenneth were active in the business by 1916. When both young men were called to active military duty that year as the nation prepared for the World War, the company decided to liquidate.

Their building hardware was used in structures designed by noted Chicago architects Burnham and Root, including the famous Rookery Building.

Orr & Lockett cast iron groover

The American Artisan, Vol. 72, 1 July 1916