The Fort Pitt Foundry was a nineteenth-century iron foundry in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It was originally established at

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

and Smithfield Street in 1804 by Joseph McClurg, grandfather of

Joseph W. McClurg Joseph Washington McClurg (February 22, 1818December 2, 1900) was the 19th Governor of Missouri in the decade following the American Civil War. His stepfather was William Murphy. Biography Born near St. Louis, Missouri, McClurg was orphaned a ...

, and his son Alex McClurg, father of bookseller and general Alexander C. McClurg. It was later moved to the area of Pittsburgh now known as the Strip District at 12th and Etna. It was an early producer of ordnance for the United States, and manufactured cannonballs for Commodore

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

's forces in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. It was best known for the manufacture of large

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

. One of the largest was a 20 inch bore

Rodman Gun Drawing comparing Model 1844 8-inch columbiad and Model 1861 10-inch "Rodman" columbiad. The powder chamber on the older columbiad is highlighted by the red box. The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed by ...

, a large black powder, smoothbore, muzzle-loading coastal defense gun. The foundry was closed after the Civil War ended. It was eventually sold to a rival in 1878.

References

{{Pittsburgh Buildings and structures in Pittsburgh Industrial buildings and structures in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies based in Pittsburgh Manufacturing companies established in 1804 Ironworks and steel mills in Pennsylvania American companies disestablished in 1878 Foundries in the United States American companies established in 1804 1804 establishments in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1878