Home > Craft & Trade > Armington & Sims Machine Shop

Armington & Sims Machine Shop & Foundry

The Armington & Sims Machine Shop & Foundry, constructed in Greenfield Village in 1929, was named in honor of the shop that was originally located in Providence, Rhode Island, that built high-speed steam engines for Edison’s New York Pearl Street Station. This building replicates a typical all-purpose job shop around 1900.

In steam-powered shops like this one, machinists created and repaired the enormous variety of metal parts that went into the machines of the new industrial nation. Job shops and foundries produced
and utilized the machinery that helped turn America into an industrial nation. Workers often began as helpers and worked their way up to skilled machinists. Many of the engineers of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s started in machine shops like the Armington & Sims Machine Shop & Foundry.

Nineteen century machine shops and foundries required large amounts of coal, coke, and iron to operate. These were stored outside. Outdoor piles of scrap iron, castings, parts, and old boilers added to creating a new American industrial landscape.

For more information, visit the official Greenfield Village website.

Copyright © 2010 Wren’s Cottage, all rights reserved