River Works, formerly known as Air Force Plant 29, is a plant of

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

aviation division An Aviation Division (russian: авиационная дивизия) was a type of formation of the Soviet Air Forces, Military Air Forces of the Red Army during the Second World War, the Soviet Air Forces, Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) and ...

located in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

. It is serviced by the

River Works station River Works station (sometimes written Riverworks) is an MBTA Commuter Rail station on the Newburyport/Rockport Line in West Lynn, Massachusetts. The only private station on the system, it is only open to GE Aviation employees who work at th ...

on the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

Newburyport/Rockport Line The Newburyport/Rockport Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running northeast from downtown Boston, Massachusetts towards Cape Ann and the Merrimack Valley, serving the North Shore. The first leg, operating via the Eastern Rou ...

. It was purchased by General Electric in 1983 from the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

History

The

Thomson-Houston Electric Company The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was a manufacturing company which was one of the precursors of the General Electric company. History The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was formed in 1882 in the United States when a group of Lynn, Massa ...

moved its operations to a new factory building on Western Avenue in West Lynn in 1883. By 1892, it had expanded into a sprawling factory complex between Western Avenue and the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...

Eastern Route tracks. That year, the company merged with

Edison General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ener ...

to become

(GE). By 1894, the Lynn plant was known as the "river works" after its position along the

Saugus River The Saugus River is a river in Massachusetts. The river is long, drains a watershed of approximately , and passes through Wakefield, Lynnfield, Saugus, and Lynn as it meanders east and south from its source in Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield ...

. The factory was expanded in 1943 as a supercharger facility (Air Force Plant No. 29), and helped to build the first jet engine during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Activities performed at the plant originally included aircraft engine testing, disassembly, lubricating, cleaning and assembly. Operations included, degreasing, electrochemical grinding, engine maintenance, metal washing, parts cleaning and stress fracture testing. The workers at the facility were known for leftist politics, joining the new United Electric Workers union in 1936. They were targeted by state and federal governments during the

Second Red Scare McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...

; in 1954, Joseph McCarthy subpoenaed five employees. From 1968 to 1972, the ‘Pilot Program’ was introduced. Faced with rising tensions on the shop floor, bottle-necks in production and low-quality products, GE management tried a scheme of workers’ control of production in one area of the plant. Immediate results in increased output and machine utilisation, and a reduction on manufacturing losses but was eventually terminated by the management. The plant had operations boosted in the late 1980s after

decided to close the

General Electric Everett Plant General Electric Everett Plant, formerly known as Air Force Plant 28, was a plant operated by General Electric from 1941 into the 1980s in Everett, Massachusetts. It was situated along the Malden River The Malden River is a U.S. Geological Surve ...

and move operations there.

References

{{MAMilitary Plants of the United States Air Force Lynn, Massachusetts General Electric