About this collection:

The Centre Foundry & Machine Company began in 1840 as the Baggs Foundry, named for two brothers, James and H. Andrew Baggs. The foundry was located at the corner of John and Fourth Streets (now 16th and Chapline). In 1855, it was purchased by another set of brothers, Alexander and Charles Cecil, who moved the foundry to what is now 2011 Main Street. After operating under the name Cecil & Company for several years, it was officially renamed Centre Foundry in 1881. The Young family purchased the factory and incorporated it in 1881; it was the first incorporated business in Ohio County. The factory would later move to South Warwood in 1923 and continue to operate there until 2023, when it officially closed its doors. Centre Foundry also acquired Washington, Mould, Machine, and Foundry from Washington, Pennsylvania, in 1964, and later Wadsworth Foundry in Wadsworth, Ohio. From the 1980s to the 21st century, the foundry cooperated with other international companies to export globally, into countries such as Canada, Norway, and Australia.

The factory primarily made iron molds and castings and was a major component for Wheeling’s streetcars and trolleys in the early 20th century. The product line would later introduce slag pots, blast furnace runners and other specialty castings in response to the growing steel industry in the mid-20th century.

This collection contains records that include albums, photographs, administration records, blueprints, and financial records. The albums cover most of the Foundry’s lifespan from the 1860s up to the closing of its doors in 2023, and includes some worker events, including CPR lessons, retirement party photos, and Christmas celebrations. The photographs include overviews of various parts from the factory, photos of workers from the 1940s to the 1980s, and construction of an addition in the 1970s and a laboratory in 1973. The administration records comprise of meeting minutes, appraisals and contracts dated between the 1940s and the 1990s. The financial records consist of employee pay roll records, stock certificates, actuarial reports, and inventory information; all ranged between the 1930s and 1990s. Union contracts and newspapers with information on the factory are included in this collection as well.

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