Our History
Founded in 1916, O. A. Newton and Son Company began as a feed and chick business.
As those businesses grew, so did our expertise and what we had to offer the farming community. From supplying chemicals for fields, to being an International Harvester Farm Machinery dealer, to appliances and manufacture homes the company has evolved to meet the needs of the community.
Today, O.A. Newton is no longer in the feed and chick business, but what we do today harkens back to our agricultural roots.
Our Irrigation Solutions Group is the leading supplier of irrigation equipment for the Mid-Atlantic region. We offer a full range of irrigation solutions from Rivulus Drip Tape for nurseries and green houses to Kifco Water Wheels which work well for sports fields, arenas, and nurseries, to the large Valley Center Pivot and Linear systems that can provide water and nutrients to many acres of crops. We provide service and parts for every solution we provide. Our Parts Room carries a complete line of PVC Pipe and Fittings for farm, home or industrial use.
The Material Controls Systems Group provides a wide range of Material Handling Solutions for dry powders and pellets. From mechanical conveying using the patented screw conveyor design for carbon black in the tire industry, to pneumatic conveying PVC powders through pipe or siding manufacturing plants, or a mix of both type of conveying commonly used to manufacture composite boards for decking, we are proud to have our equipment installed in plants around the world.
Today, as we are competing in a global marketplace, we simply call ourselves, O. A. Newton. Our history has a rich background because of the strong entrepreneurial spirit of our founders. Our future is in the hands of our knowledgeable, experienced and caring employees who make up our company.
History Timeline
Who Is O.A. Newton?
The story of this company starts well before it’s founding. Oliver A. Newton, born 1862, settled in Bridgeville, Delaware in 1884, and made a living as a fruit farmer. Through out his life O.A. Newton served as a member of the state House of Representatives, as state Senator during World War I, as a member of and eventually President of the State Board of Agriculture, a member of the Sussex County Highway Commission, and a director of the state fair of Delaware. He was President of the Baltimore Trust Company of Bridgeville, a Vice President and Director of the Delaware Railroad, member of the Regional Agricultural Credit Corporation, and a President of the Board of Trustees of Delaware State College.
Going to Market 1908
Oliver is driving and Warren (approximately 13 or 14 years old at the time) is on the tailgate in the back in this picture taken around 1908
The Founding
In 1916 Warren C. Newton graduates from (what is now) the University of Delaware and returns home to his father’s farm near Bridgeville. At the time his father, Oliver A. Newton, had a flock of White Leghorn Chicken and several small incubators, but they were poor producers. Warren, armed with the new found knowledge from the U of D and a 3 month course in Poultry Husbandry from Cornell, starts blending a more balanced feed for the flock. Flock production, and quality of the chickens improve dramatically. Something that didn’t go un-noticed by his neighbors, and they started buying a bag or two of his feed when it was available. A new business is born.
A One Man Operation
The business is still a one man operation as egg production continues to improve. These incubators were located in the cellar of the farm building.
Newton Chemical & Supply
This is the original building for Newton Chemical & Supply Company which supplied farmers in the area with the pesticides and fertilizers needed to grow better crops.
Administrative Offices
Administrative offices were moved from ‘The Old Farm House’ to this building on Rt 404. Over the years, It has housed the offices for O.A. Newton’s administration, accounting and engineering. It’s now home to the S.C.O.P.E.School.
From Chicks to Grain
O.A. Newton Evolves: Using the knowledge and experiece gain from growing chicks the company begins to supply Grain Handling equipment to other chicken growers.
Delaware State Fair Booth in the 1940’s
Feed Mill
By 1943, O.A. Newton & Son Co. was producing 20,000 tons of feed at this mill in Bridgeville.
A New Hatchery
The continued demand for chicks warranted the purchase of modern equipment, moving the hatchery twice to larger quarters and the construction of a hatchery with the capacity of 563,000 eggs.
Newton Chemical’s New Building
By 1946 Newton Chemicals had built, and moved into this building behind the grain elevator near Rt 404. The operation, and building is now owned by Helena Chemical, and is still in operation today.
An International Harvester Dealership
International Harvester farm machinery and display building with paint and repair shops, built on the corner of US Route 13 and DE Route 404.
Grain Elevator
This grain elevator was built to replace the outmoded corn crib to insure closer-to-home market for the farmer, and a better supply of grain for the mill. In it’s day, it could shell 1500 bushels of corn an hour and had a storage capacity of 65,000 bushels. It has since been purchased by Perdue, and is still in operation today and still processing feed for chicken.
1st Place Chicken
O.A. Newton & Son Company’s chicken place 1st and 3rd in Delaware’s Chicken-Of-Tomorrow Contest. The contest was staged by The Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) to encourage the development of better meat-type chicken.
An Early Aerial Photo
An early aerial photograph of O.A. Newton on the corner of Route 13, and what will become Route 404
Newton Appliances
For many years, O.A. Newton sold appliances out of the show room on Rt 13. Although that business was shut down in the mid 80’s, we still occasionally get calls from people asking for spare parts.
Irrigation is Added to the Farm Equipment Portfolio
Material Handling Become a part of O.A. Newton
O.A. Newton aquires and absorbs Eastern Chemical, a Material Handling Engineering company, to augment it’s grain handling solutions. The company now has the ability to move not just grain, but any dry bulk solids (such as pvc powder, or wood flour composites). Since this point O.A. Newton, has preformed hundereds of installations here in the united states and around the world – helpping companies like CertainTeed, Solo Cup, GAF, and Dow Chemical, produce their products as efficently and inexpensively as possible.
Newton Homes is Launched
Newton Homes is Launched
O.A. Newton Acquires Controlling Interest in Ted Key Company to Create TKC Techonogies
O.A. Newton Acquires Controlling Interest in Ted Key Company to Create TKC Techonogies
TKC Technologies Becomes an O.A. Newton Product Line for Handling Carbon Black
TKC Technologies Becomes an O.A. Newton Product Line for Handling Carbon Black
O.A. Newton Acquires Coast Equipment
O.A. Newton Acquires Coast Equipment