National Historic Landmark

W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop

Rices Landing, Greene County, Pennsylvania
Listed
March 2, 2017
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
100000839

About this property

The W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop is a historic industrial facility at 116 Water Street in Rices Landing, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1900 and operating until 1965, it is one of the best-preserved examples of an early 20th-century small industrial machine shop in the nation. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016. The Young Foundry and Machine Shop is located in the village of Rices Landing, on the south side of the Monongahela River in rural southwestern Pennsylvania. It is set on the south side of Water Street, which separates most of the property from the river. The shop is a complex of three interconnected wood-frame structures, which are basically utilitarian and vernacular in appearance, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. The Front Shop, the largest building, houses the main machine shop on the ground floor and the Pattern Shop on the second floor. Attached to the rear of this building are two smaller ones, housing the Foundry and the "Back Shop". Tools and equipment are arranged by function, in order to maximize flexibility. In the late 19th century, Rice's Landing was a prosperous shipment point for the region. In 1900 William A. Young built the foundry and machine shop purchased that year. He established a small foundry and metal machine shop on the premises. The foundry operated until the 1930s, when Young closed it, unable to compete with larger and more efficient operations. The shop remained in operation until 1965, operated after Young's death in 1940 by his two sons. The building and its entire suite of tools, patterns, and records, was acquired by the Greene County Historical Society in 1985. It sold the property in 2009 to the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation, which has undertaken preservation of the site. List of National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places listings in Greene County, Pennsylvania Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-199, "W. A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop, On Water Street along Monongahela River, Rices Landing, Greene County, PA", 46 photos, 2 color transparencies, 8 measured drawings, 18 data pages, 4 photo caption pages

Location

116 Water st.
Rices Landing, Greene County, Pennsylvania
39.94918, -79.99860
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Rice's Landing Historic District
Listed
0.1 mi
Rex, John, Farm
Industrial
2.8 mi
Colver-Rogers Farmstead
Colonial
3.3 mi
Hughes House
Industrial
3.4 mi
Greene Academy
Industrial
3.6 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Jumonville Glen 1754
1754Colonial
10.6 mi
Battle of Great Meadows (Jumonville Glen) 1754
1754Colonial
10.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop listed on the National Register?

W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 2, 2017.

What type of historic resource is W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop?

W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop?

The period of significance for W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop?

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