200@200 : January - Iconic Fort Wayne
Date:
1860s-1870s
Title:
Bass Foundry Hitching Post
Description:
Bass Foundry and Machine Works

Established in 1853 as Jones, Bass and Company, the Bass foundry began as a small metalworking shop that sprung up to serve the railroad. It eventually grew into a massive operation that claimed to manufacture "everything from a small screw to a 300 horsepower engine" and train wheels that rolled over every railroad in the United States. By the 1890s, John H. Bass (1835-1922) had expanded the foundry and employed over 1,100 people. His mansion still stands on the grounds of the University of St. Francis.

The foundry is a symbol of industrial expansion in the nineteenth century and the transition of Allen County from a frontier, agrarian economy to one with booming industrial growth. Bass Foundry cast this horse head hitching post that stood at the Franklin Randall house at Lafayette and Berry Streets. "J. H. Bass" can be read on the side of the horse's head.
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Franklin Randall Home Hitching Post, Cast by Bass FoundryFranklin Randall Home Hitching Post, Cast by Bass Foundry
Bass Foundry and Machine Co. PlantBass Foundry and Machine Co. Plant
Franklin Randall Home Hitching Post, Cast by Bass FoundryFranklin Randall Home Hitching Post, Cast by Bass Foundry
Franklin Randall Home Hitching Post, Cast by Bass FoundryFranklin Randall Home Hitching Post, Cast by Bass Foundry
Franklin Randall Home Hitching Post, Cast by Bass FoundryFranklin Randall Home Hitching Post, Cast by Bass Foundry
Franklin Randall Home Hitching Post, Cast by Bass FoundryFranklin Randall Home Hitching Post, Cast by Bass Foundry