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Then and now · 2026-10-05

Farm fields to a WWII engine plant: Evendale, Ohio 1938 vs today

The same square mile north of Cincinnati from the air in 1938, 1950, 1968 and 2018. In 1938 it was farm fields beside the railroad. Ground was broken in October 1940 for Wright Aeronautical's engine plant, and it opened on June 12, 1941, with Orville Wright there. It built piston engines for B-17 and B-29 bombers, with more than 30,000 people working at the peak. It closed at the end of the war; GE moved in in 1948 to build jet engines, and the complex in Evendale is GE Aerospace's headquarters today. Hamilton County's CAGIS flew the old photos, and every one of them is on our map.

Did someone in your family work at the Wright plant, or at GE? Which building?

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Sources:
- GE Aerospace, "How GE's 'Magnificent Seven' Established the Evendale Complex" and "The Day Orville Wright Visited GE Aviation's Historic Headquarters" (opened June 12, 1941; 30,000+ workers at peak; B-17 and B-29 engines; closed 1945)
- GE Aerospace: Wikipedia (ground broken October 23, 1940; GE production from 1948; headquarters in Evendale)
- 1938: CAGIS (Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System), Hamilton County, Ohio
- 1950: CAGIS (Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System), Hamilton County, Ohio
- 1968: CAGIS (Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System), Hamilton County, Ohio
- 2018: Ohio Statewide Imagery Program (OGRIP)

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Cracked Buckeye, "Farm fields to a WWII engine plant: Evendale, Ohio 1938 vs today", https://crackedbuckeye.com/videos/farm-fields-to-a-wwii-engine-plant-evendale-ohio-1938-vs-today/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].

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