First Foundry in Montgomery County, Tennessee located on Commerce Street near downtown Clarksville at the site of the original town spring and operates under the name of Clarksville Foundry & Machine Shop.

American Civil War is underway and Whitfield, Bradley & Co is used as a munitions factory for the Confederacy during the War Between the States. In 1862, the Foundry operations cease upon the capture of Clarksville by the Union Army. Metallography is developed by Henry C. Sorby of Sheffield, England, in 1863, enabling foundrymen to polish, etch and microscopically examine metal surfaces for physical analysis.

An era of Modernization … in 1893 steam and gasoline engines are introduced.

New equipment brings industry changes when, in 1900, the Brinell hardness test machines were introduced. In 1902, the foundry begins manufacturing the Ground Hog Plow when Drane & Co. purchases patent rights on the Ground Hog Plow from James Rossiter resulting in the incorporation of Ground Hog Plow & Foundry Company.

Thomas (T.B.) Foust relocates to Clarksville when he leaves the employment of Mr. R.J. Reynolds in North Carolina, becomes a chemist and later superintendent for The Red River Furnace Company. He also consults for blast furnaces in the area to optimize their processes.

Thomas (T.B.) Foust leases the foundry and machine shop from Red River Furnace Company and operates as Clarksville Foundry & Machine Works on the Red River Street site. In 1915, experimentation begins with bentonite, a colloidal clay exhibiting high green strength and dry strength. The same year, the first low-frequency induction furnace for nonferrous melting is installed in Philadelphia. On May 9, 1917, Clarksville Foundry & Machine Works is incorporated.

T.B. Foust’s sons join the business — George T. Foust, Charles E. Foust, and Tom Foust Jr.

T.B. Foust develops and introduces a new product line of mass-produced municipal castings that are sold nationally. They are still visible in cities across the U.S. The product line becomes a hallmark for Clarksville Foundry for the next 40 years.

Ductile iron is invented in 1943 and opens the door to many new applications. It provides flexibility and strength previously unavailable with iron casting. The Commerce Street foundry ceases operation in 1946, but that location continues as the site of machine, welding and blacksmith shops. In 1949, a U.S. patent on ductile iron production through magnesium treatment is issued.

The Original Old Frame Building Proves Inadequate for all the metal casting being done at the Red River Street location. It is torn down, leaving the furnace standing, and a metal building is erected around the furnace.

The Foundry ceased operations in January 1974 for five months due to decreasing markets and numerous changes in the industry. The Foundry was experiencing a decline in demand for municipal castings, the poor economy, an increase in foreign competition, the advent of plastic and concrete products and the implementation of sweeping new air pollution regulations by the federal government. Instead of permanently closing its doors as many competitors were forced to do, Clarksville Foundry makes bold moves to bring the operation within new EPA guidelines. In June of the same year, Clarksville Foundry reopens with permission to use its old cupola furnace until a new one that meets pollution regulations can be installed. On March 26, 1975, a new oil-fired rotary furnace becomes operational.

A 250-kilowatt Induction Electric Furnace is installed, allowing Clarksville Foundry to engage in small batch processing. Multiple batches can be produced and chemistry easily refined.

Clarksville Foundry consolidates Operations to a single site in order to continue improving operational inefficiencies. Construction of a new main office and technology upgrades take place. The historic Commerce Street properties are sold to the City of Clarksville and become the site of new city office buildings.

Rosette Bobbin Wins the 2005-06 Samuel B. Barker Outdoor Sculpture Competition held at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, due to casting by Clarksville Foundry and participation with three other U.S.-based foundries. The sculpture resides outside the 1901 Spencer Honors House (at UAB), formerly the Second Presbyterian Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke during the civil rights era. A full-size replica resides outside Clarksville Foundry. Read more.

Clarksville Foundry’s reproduction cannon is permanently installed at Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center as a gift to the community. Civil War re-enactors from Porter’s Battery fire the cannon during grand opening events in April 2011. Read More.

Clarksville Foundry Becomes Green Certified as a business in Clarksville-Montgomery County when older equipment is replaced with energy efficient models for the casting process and practices are instituted to recycle and reduce waste in its administrative functions. Read More.

Clarksville Foundry produces aluminum castings to replicate three rosette windows at First Presbyterian Church. The Gothic Revival structure from 1878 is one of five churches listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Earlier that year, William “Bill” Foust joins Clarksville Foundry. Bill Foust, Charles’ son and the fourth generation of the family to work at Clarksville Foundry, serves as a General Manager / Vice President. Read More.