The West Point Foundry was a major American ironworking and machine shop site in

Cold Spring, New York Cold Spring is a village in the town of Philipstown in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 1,986 at the 2020 census. It borders the smaller village of Nelsonville and the hamlets of Garrison and North Highlands. The cen ...

, operating from 1818 to about 1911. Initiated after 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 became most famous for its production of

Parrott rifle The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle-loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War. Parrott rifle The gun was invented by Captain Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He was an American soldier and invent ...

artillery and other munitions during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, although it also manufactured a variety of iron products for civilian use. The increase of steel making and decreasing demand for cast iron after the Civil War caused it to become bankrupt gradually and cease operations during the early 20th Century. ''Note:'' This includes an
''Accompanying photographs''
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History

Founding and early products

The establishment of the foundry was encouraged by President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

, who, after the

, wanted to establish domestic foundries to produce

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. Cold Spring was an ideal site: timber for charcoal was abundant, there were many local iron mines, and the nearby Margaret's Brook provided water power to drive machinery. The site was guarded by

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, across the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, and the river provided shipping for finished products. The West Point Foundry Association was incorporated by

Gouverneur Kemble Gouverneur Kemble (January 25, 1786 – September 18, 1875) was a two-term United States Congressman, diplomat and industrialist. He helped found the West Point Foundry, a major producer of artillery during the American Civil War. Early life and ...

, who was of a merchant family in New York City (his mother's family had associations in Putnam County), and the foundry began operation in 1817. Artillery was tested by shooting across the Hudson at the desolate slopes of Storm King Mountain (which would later have to be swept for unexploded ordnance as a result after some of it exploded during a 1999 fire). The platform used for mounting artillery for proofing was uncovered during

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

work in the early 1990s. Besides artillery, the foundry also produced iron fittings for civilian uses, such as pipe for the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

water system and sugar mills for shipment to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. A number of early

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

s were built at the foundry, including the ''

Best Friend of Charleston The ''Best Friend of Charleston'' was a steam-powered railroad locomotive widely considered the first locomotive to be built entirely within the United States for revenue service. It produced the first locomotive boiler explosion in the United St ...

'' (the first to be put into commercial service), the ''

'' (the third built for service in the United States), the ''

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...

'' (the fourth, and first to operate in New York state), ''Phoenix'', and ''Experiment''.

Parrott years and the Civil War

In 1835, Captain

Robert Parker Parrott Robert Parker Parrott (October 5, 1804 – December 24, 1877) was an American soldier and inventor of military ordnance. Born in Lee, New Hampshire, he was the son of John Fabyan Parrott. He graduated with honors from the United States Milita ...

, an 1824-graduate of the

United States Military Academy at West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, was appointed as an inspector of ordnance at the foundry for the U.S. Army. The following year he resigned his commission and on October 31, 1836, was appointed superintendent of the foundry. It prospered over his long tenure, and was the site of numerous experiments with artillery and projectiles, culminating in his invention of the

cannon in 1860. In 1843 the foundry also manufactured the USS ''Spencer'', a revenue cutter which was the first iron ship built in the U.S.A. The foundry was busiest during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

due to military orders: at that time it had a workforce of 1,400 people and produced 2,000 cannon and three million shells. Parrott also invented an incendiary shell which was used in an 8-inch Parrott rifle cannon (the "Swamp Angel") to bombard Charleston. The importance of the foundry for the war effort can be measured by the fact that President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

visited and inspected it in June 1862. The fame of the foundry was such that

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, for his novel ''

From the Earth to the Moon ''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' (french: De la Terre à la Lune, trajet direct en 97 heures 20 minutes) is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil W ...

'', chose it as the contractor for the ''Columbiad'', a spaceship-launching cannon.

Decline and demise

In 1867, Parrott resigned as superintendent, although he continued to experiment with artillery designs until his death in 1877. Business of the foundry decreased due to competition from more modern techniques of iron and steel production. It had discontinued the use of charcoal and begun to purchase coal from

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, ...

about 1870. However, it was unable to avoid receivership in 1884 and bankruptcy in 1889. It was sold in 1897 to the Cornell brothers, makers of sugar mills, and ceased operation in 1911.

Site archaeology

Of the buildings on the site, only the central office building remains intact; the remainder are in ruins. around the site form a preserve owned by

Scenic Hudson Scenic Hudson is a non-profit environmental organization in New York that protects land, creates, and enhances parks, and advocates for environmentally responsible policies and development practices. History Scenic Hudson was founded as the Scen ...

. It can be visited by a short trail from the nearby Cold Spring

Metro-North Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connecticut D ...

station. A major archaeological study of the site, funded by Scenic Hudson and performed by

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

, occurred from 2002 to 2008. The West Point Foundry Archeological Site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2010, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 2021.

References

External links

Archaeological Investigation of West Point Foundry
{{Authority control Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) New York (state) in the American Civil War 1817 establishments in New York (state) 1911 disestablishments in New York (state) Ruins in the United States Buildings and structures in Putnam County, New York Scenic Hudson National Register of Historic Places in Putnam County, New York Ammunition manufacturers National Historic Landmarks in New York (state)