Henry Kirke Porter

Henry Kirke Porter (November 24, 1840 – April 10, 1921) was an American businessman and Representative of the United States Congress for Pennsylvania's 31st congressional district.

Biography

Porter was born in Concord, New Hampshire. In 1860, he graduated from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He also helped found the YMCA that year. He attended the Newton Theological Seminary in Newton Center, Massachusetts.

In 1862, he enlisted in the 45th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, and was mustered out in July 1863.

He continued his theological training at the Rochester Theological Seminary in Rochester, New York, but in 1866 he was given a gift of $20,000 by his father, which changed the course of his life.

He invested that money with a partner, John Y. Smith, and formed the Smith & Porter Machine works. They opened a small shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which grew to become H. K. Porter, Inc. Porter served as president of the company.

He was President of the Pittsburgh YMCA from 1868–1887, and was President of the Western Pennsylvania Institute for the Blind in 1904. He served in the United States House of Representatives in the 58th United States Congress from 1903 - 1905 as an Independent Republican.

H. K. Porter, Inc

H. K. Porter, Inc. (Porter) manufactured light-duty railroad locomotives in the USA, starting in 1866. The company became the largest producer of industrial locomotives, and built almost eight thousand of them. The last locomotive was built in 1950, but the company continues to produce industrial equipment to this day.

Porter was known for building locomotives that were much smaller than those normally used by the larger Class I railroads. The company's locomotives were small enough that they were often operated by only one person. Porter built mostly steam locomotives, but they also built some powered by gasoline and diesel engines, and some that ran on compressed air.

The largest collection of Porter photographs and information is currently housed in the Kentlein Porter Collection at the A. C. Kalmbach Memorial Library (a service of the National Model Railroad Association) in Chattanooga, TN. Many of the 780 builder's photos, blueprints and other locomotive data were republished in Porter Steam Locomotives, published by the library.