In 1956, Orlando was the growing center of a citrus industry. In September of that year the Baltimore based Glenn L. Martin Company announced that it had bought nearly 12 square miles of land southwest of Orlando to build their new Orlando Division. Roads, utilities and water lines, housing – all construction kicked into high gear to accommodate the new defense production facility and the influx of some 2,700 employees and their families.
On Dec. 4, 1957 the Orlando Division plant of the renamed Martin Company opened its doors, and production began on missile projects such as Pershing, Bullpup, Lacrosse, Sprint, Patriot and Hellfire. Due to a merger the Martin Company became Martin Marietta in 1961 and another merger led to a new name in 1995 – Lockheed Martin.
Orlando became, literally, the crossroads of the state with Interstate 4 and the state turnpike intersecting just south of the city due to the company’s influence in the turnpike’s planning phase. Then the Bee Line (now the Beech Line) expressway to the east coast was constructed to facilitate quick trips to the Space Coast by Martin employees as well as commuters to the growing space industry.
The company (by whichever name you know it by) and its thousands of employees were and continue to be a major contributor to the success of this community and we wish to share their memories here. Please bring other’s to our attention so that we many include them. Please see our contact page. Feel free to ask us for assistance!
Charlie Finley: Range Custodian
Charlie French: Aeronautical Engineer
Dr. Benjamin Patz: Research Scientist
Joe Sikora: Lockheed Martin Engineer
Mel Taylor: Glenn L. Martin Tech Rep
John L. Tracy: Special Projects Manager
William M. Turner: Electrical Engineer
Back to top
Martin Company Entrance
Photo of the new Martin Company plant on Sand Lake Road completed in January 1958.
The Martin Company
On September 15, 1956, the Glenn L. Martin Company announced the purchase of over ten square miles of land to establish their...
The Martin Plant
The Martin Plant
I was blessed to be an employee, 10,000 co-workers. I met D, Wehner o Braun there, didn’t look up when he stopped by me and ask me what I was working on. We had been trained to always ask : “Do you have the need to know?” Yes, I did ask him this question, he laughed and later it was published in our work newsletter.
Greetings Jennel! Thank you for sharing your memory of meeting Wehner Von Braun when you worked at the Martin Company. It must have been truly exciting! We hope you will find additional posts on Orlando Memory that bring back fond memories of days gone by and continue to share your experiences with us all. THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
My dad’s people were from the Ozarks of southern Missouri. In WW II he enlisted at 17 in the Navy, and was shipped over to Hickam Field Hawaii for 2 years, as an airplane electrician. After the war he married my mom, whose families were from Virginia and Maryland. He landed a job at the Martin defense plant in Baltimore in 1954 and worked there until he transferred to work in the Orlando Plant in 1962. It was my happiest days, growing up in old Winter Park. They didn’t pay him much and he worked a lot of OT, but living in Central Florida back then was incredible. We all ended up living in Volusia County within 5 miles from the ocean, My son went to work there first as an aeronautic engineering student at UCF, and then full time upon graduating. I owe a lot to the Glen L Martin company, for sure.
Greetings Mr. Hoover! Thank you for visiting Orlando Memory and sharing your amazing family history on the Martin Company post. We hope you continue to peruse Orlando Memory and find more posts that bring back fond memories of days gone by. THE ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
My grandfather, my mother and my stepfather all worked at The Martin company for periods of time between late 50’s to late 80’s, I believe. (the top photo of the entrance is what I remember!)
We also moved to the “boondocks of Altamonte” in the 60’s and enjoyed the travel to the plant to take my step-dad dinner at times, well before traffic became an issue! I remember him bringing home red, white and blue space capsule transistor type AMFM radios for all of us kids from work. It was a point of pride for a family member to work there.
Greetings Angie! Thank you for visiting Orlando Memory and commenting on the post about the Martin Company. How exciting to have family members who were a part of the important work that took place at the Martin Company during those years. The AM-FM space capsule radio sounds amazing, too! We hope you will find other posts that bring back fond memories of growing up in Orlando and share them on Orlando Memory. ORLANDO MEMORY TEAM
My dad moved from Alabama in 1959 to work there. My mom moved from West Virginia in 1960 for other reasons, but got a job at Martin too, as a solderer. They got married in February of 1961 in Pine Hills and settled into a duplex on 18th St. Eventually building a house out in the boondocks of Altamonte Springs. My dad talked his brother into moving to Orlando also, in late 1960, to work there. He did, but only for awhile, then he went to work for NASA in Titusville and retired in 2007. Great memories!!
Belinda, thank you for sharing the memories of your father and his brother! Your description – “boondocks of Altamonte Springs” brought back memories. As late as 1970, I remember driving in from Lake County and there was nothing but pine tree forest where the Altamonte Mall is now located! Pretty much the only thing there was a Barnett Bank on the right side of the road going east and a few other stores.