Sollitt: A Family Company Since 1838

• The Sollitt family came to England from France as experienced Cathedral and fortification builders after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis the XIV making it impossible for Protestants to continue to be cathedral builders
• The York Minister Cathedral needed repairs due to damage from the religious wars, and the Sollitt’s found steady work there for over 100 years. This project came to an end in its last stages of its repairs due to arson, and with no money to rebuild it James Sollitt and his three boys – John, Thomas and William were out of jobs.

• 1836 Thomas came to Chicago
• 1838 William came to Chicago and the brothers began building and worked for Azel Peck until 1840
• 1840 - 1845 Updike, Peck & Sollitt
• 1846 - 1850 Updike & Sollitt
• 1849 William got gold fever and went to California for 7 years

• October 8, 1871 the Chicago Fire left 100,000 people homeless after burning 3.3 square miles and 68% of structures. John Sollitt's office  and yard were destroyed by the fire, but William Sollitt's construction yard was saved.
• The three Sollitt brothers joined forces again and began to rebuild the city for their clients.

• On April 7^th, 1908, Ralph T. Sollitt obtained a patent for his concrete mixing machine. Ralph's invention mixed the ingredients used in making concrete. Ralph's machine was able to ensure materials both before and after mixing were more economically and easily handled.
• Fig. 1 shows a side elevation, showing one form of the machine embodying Ralph's invention.
• Fig. 17 is a side elevation of a further modification, illustrating the application of Ralph's improvements to a self-moving or automobile machine.

• The Sollitt's found themselves as leaders in construction of fireproof buildings and manufacturing plants here at Fort Sheridan
• Ralph Shannon Sollitt was sent to France as a Captain in the Corp or Engineers. The remaining Sollitt's who did not go to war were left to run the business and built some of the major military facilities in the Midwest. Their record was building 86 building in 9 days
• As the war ended and the roaring twenties kicked off Ralph Sollitt was getting lots of orders for work in areas away from Chicago. He sent his son Ralph Shannon to South Bend, IN to start a branch company and kept his son George to focus on their existing clients.

In South Bend Ralph Shannon was able to survive as Sollitt found a new client, The University of Notre Dame. Sollitt was able to build a relationship that became depression proof as Notre Dame's football money allowed the University and Sollitt to build while almost no one else was. The continued expansion of 1 to 2 buildings a year at Notre Dame allowed Sollitt to go after other WPA work in Southern States and build a specialty in electric power generation.

• All 3 Sollitt construction companies were in good financial shape, and in much better financial shape than their competition. They were poised to serve the industrial needs of the war efforts of WWII.
• Sumner Sollitt was able to build military training facilities in the Great Lakes Naval Station.
• George Sollitt worked on improving transportation networks and airfields.
• Ralph Shannon Sollitt in South Bend was even better positioned as a heavy industrial contractor working on munitions plants, power generation plants and steel smelting facilities.

George Solllitt Construction continued in Chicago building mostly institutional buildings, corporate headquarters and healthcare.

• In South Bend, Ralph S. Sollitt and Sollitt Construction Company was by far the largest of the 3 companies having a 1951 ENR Ranking #5. Ralph continued to build in the power generating industry and built the largest dam east of the Mississippi in Virginia.
• He found other industrial clients in automotive, aerospace, steel and food processing.
• Sollitt began to build nuclear power projects which came to an abrupt halt following the Three Mile Island incident, which he sought to replace this loss with healthcare projects.

Many people who worked for the Sollitt Construction Companies worked there for their entire lives. Maurie Bontrager started working for Sollitt Construction in 1929 on Notre Dame Stadium and continued to work until he retired in 1986.

The George Sollitt Construction Company became and ESOP November 30, 1976, after having been a profit-sharing company since December of 1969.

Today, only the George Sollitt Construction Company remains a viable business enterprise.