Decline and Archaeology
In 1867, Parrott resigned as superintendent, although he continued to experiment with artillery designs until his death in 1877. Business at the foundry declined as it faced competition from more modern techniques of iron and steel production. It had discontinued the use of charcoal and begun to import coal from Pennsylvania around 1870. However, it was unable to stave off receivership in 1884 and bankruptcy in 1889. It was sold in 1897 to the Cornell brothers, makers of sugar mills, and closed in 1911.
Of the buildings on the site, only the central office building remains intact; the rest are in ruins. 87 acres (35 ha) around the site form a preserve owned by Scenic Hudson. It can be visited by a short trail from the nearby Cold Spring Metro-North station. A major archaeological study of the site, funded by Scenic Hudson and undertaken by Michigan Tech, has taken place from 2002-2008.
Read more about this topic: West Point Foundry
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