Our History
Since 1926…
Crane Service Co. has helped shape the skylines, infrastructure, and landmarks of the Mid-Atlantic region. What began along the C&O Canal in Georgetown has grown into a century-long story of resilience, innovation, and family leadership.
Through economic shifts, historic restorations, emergency response efforts, and generational transitions, the company has remained grounded in the same principles it was founded on: hard work, integrity, faith, and a commitment to doing the job right.
Each decade has added a new chapter to the story.
The timeline below reflects not only the projects completed, but the people, partnerships, and progress that have defined Crane Service Co. for 100 years.
The company’s earliest work relied on buckboard-style cranes mounted on wagons, paired with clamshell buckets.
Crews loaded dirt and materials directly into wagons for excavation and transfer work. The process was manual, rugged, and labor-intensive, requiring skilled operators who understood terrain, balance, and timing long before modern controls existed.
Sherwood Hutchison, Robert Hutchison’s nephew, joins Crane Service Company after returning home from World War II, where he served with the U.S. Navy Seabees in the South Pacific. His return marks the beginning of the company’s second generation of leadership.
A Mack Model B truck and lowboy entered service, photographed at RFK Stadium, reflecting the company’s growing hauling and lifting capacity.
Supported the major reconstruction work on the U.S. Senate office building on Capitol Hill, most commonly associated with modernization of the Russell Senate Office Building. This project reflects growing trust at the highest levels of government.
Construction of President John F. Kennedy’s tomb at Arlington National Cemetery commenced. The project involved handling gray granite quarried from New England and positioning the simple flat ledger stone that marked the grave. The understated design required careful precision and reverence in one of the nation’s most sacred spaces.
Crane operations supported construction of the Watergate Complex along the Potomac River. Work included structural steel placement and material handling across a multi-building site during one of the largest mixed-use developments of its time.
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