Stewart Iron Works, founded in 1862 by Richard Clayborne Stewart Sr., was the largest ornamental fence company in the world at the turn of the nineteenth century. Stewart (1829-1906) was a blacksmith from Louisville, Kentucky and started in Iron Works with partner Thomas A. Martin in Covington, Kentucky as Stewart and Martin Iron Fence Works. [i]
By 1869 the partners had gone separate ways. Sons Richard C. Jr and Wallace A. followed their father in the iron business, first in Wichita, Kansas and then back to Covington. Stewart held a 23-year contract with Sears, Roebuck and Co. for iron fencing. At the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Stewart Iron Works was awarded the grand prize and gold medal merit in construction for its numerous designs of iron fencing and lawn furniture.[ii] Unlike most of their nineteenth century competitors, Stewart Iron Works is still in business today, though in a reduced state.
Stewart Iron Works Gate
McAlpine Lot, Mesopotamia Cemetery
Eutaw, Alabama
Stewart Iron Works Gate
Key West Cemetery
Key West, Florida
Stewart Iron Works Gate
Forkland Methodist Church Cemetery
Forkland, Alabama
[i] Lietzenmayerm Karl J., Stewart Iron Works, A Kentucky Centennary Company
[ii] The Encylopedia of Northern Kentucky in partnership with NKY.com. Edited by Paul A. Tenkotte and James C. Claypool, The University Press of Kentucky. Republished for the World Wide Web by NKY.com and Enquirer Media. A Project of the Thomas D. Clark Foundation, Inc., p 854.