Design your own Iron Mold & participate in Alabama Art Casting’s 1st Selma Workshop & Demonstration

Etch your own scratch block mold, and watch the iron pour at The Foundry during the Historic Selma Pilgrimage.  

The Foundry will be open Fri 1-5 p.m., Sat. 9-5 p.m., Sun 1-5 p.m.  Iron pour will be Saturday 3 p.m. (approx), March 21.

These cast-iron block molds make unique gifts or keepsakes such as trivets, garden sculptures, house numbers, doorstops, shelf art . . . and more.

For more information or to purchase a scratch block, contact Jonathan Matthews:  Home: 334-875-6510 Work: 334-877-4253 Email: cahawbam@bellsouth.net

Alabama Art Casting is donating half the proceeds from scratch block sales to the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society toward preservation of the 1860’s Foundry.
This part of Selma's industrial heritage served the community for over a hundred years with the manufacture of steam engines, boilers, and cotton presses. An array of historic machinery still occupies the building today. This year Alabama Art Casting, a 501(c)3 group from Tannehill State Park, will perform an iron casting workshop starting on Friday afternoon that will culminate in an actual iron pour late on Saturday.  (They will use their own equipment on the lawn—not inside on the original.)  Scratch block molds will be available for purchase for you to design and take home your own cast iron work of art.  Tours of the interior of the Foundry building will be given all weekend.  Click on the following link to view a video of the Alabama Art Casting group in action:  http://tinyurl.com/7kuzef

The "Confederate" Foundry  circa 1860s

With the new roof in place the SDCHPS society was able to provide a dry and safe location to preserve, restore and display the building's unique Industrial history.

The restoration of the equipment is an ongoing process that must first start with an extensive historical search to determine the age and use of the equipment.

At one time the 3 building compound was home to the Central City Iron Works.  Later on the site became the headquarters of the Union Iron Works and as you walk around town you may notice some of the iron products that were produced here.

The other buildings on the site housed an auto parts store up until the mid 1980's.  Much of the belt drive equipment can still be found in the rafters of the buildings. 

The SDCHPS has, through the generosity of local supplier and a team of volunteers, spread a layer of river rock over the Foundry's dirt floor to protect the site and allow pedestrian travel during Pilgrimage.  The Foundry has local significance as an American Industrial Revolution site and the site has national significance as the location of a support industry for the Confederate Naval Arsenal.  Some speculate that the building may even date back to 1833 as Shearer's Warehouse.  Two other buildings comprise the current industrial complex, but they are not owned by the SDCHPS and are unfortunately falling into disrepair.

A small creek runs along the back edge of the property and dumps into the Alabama River.  It is conceivable that early Alabama Civilizations may have picked this site to inhabit.

The rich history of the site, combined with the existing buildings onsite, are a strong argument for the overall protection and preservation of the area.   

Points of Interest

Send mail to Info@SelmaAlabama.com with questions or comments about this website.  Copyright ã 2002 Selma Dallas County Historic Preservation Society.