Fort Scott Foundry collection, 1894-1919

Authors

Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Files

Description

A collection of record and ledger books of payments and shipments from the Fort Scott Foundry and Machine Works of Fort Scott, Kansas.

The Fort Scott Foundry and Machine Works was established in 1869 by George A. Crawford, proprietor, and Frank J. Nutz, superintendent, in Fort Scott, Kansas. A. W. Walburn (1852-1930) built up the factory and foundry in the 1870s, later becoming proprietor with F. J. Nutz as superintendent. The foundry produced processing equipment that serviced many fields of production, including boilers, mining machinery, stoves, coal trucks, evaporation systems, sugar processors, saw mills, ore treatment, and farm equipment. The foundry also shipped products internationally. M. Swenson, patentor of the Swenson method of evaporators and inventor of processes and machinery, bought a half interest in the Fort Scott Foundry, and changed the name to the Walburn-Swenson Foundry and Machine Company. The company was prosperous in southeast Kansas with mining and immigrant labor, and eventually established international business. In 1893 the company moved its machines and equipment to a new plant in Chicago, and moved its offices to New York. The company was sold in 1900 and Walburn retired while Swenson moved on to invent a hydraulic method of extracting and evaporating salt. After the company was sold, it became the American Foundry and Machinery Company.

Publication Date

9-8-2021

Keywords

Business and Industry

Disciplines

Business

Size of Collection

.4 linear feet

Dates of Collection

1894-1919

Manuscript Number

SpC MS 0277

Recommended Citation

Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library, "Fort Scott Foundry collection, 1894-1919" (2021). Finding Aids. 309.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/fa/309