Noble Foundry

The Noble Foundry, Rome, Ga., was built in the late 1850s by James R. Noble Sr. The foundry was a manufacturer of engines for mining, milling, and general industry. Soon after the war started, the Noble Foundry quickly switched to turning out war materials.

In addition to casting pewter military buttons and belt plates, this factory was one of the few in the South with the equipment and expertise to manufacture rifled cannons and a complete, ready-to-fire gun including caissons, carriages and limbers.

During the fall of Rome in 1864, the Noble Foundry was destroyed, with only the lathe surviving. The main lathe used in the foundry, which was still in service until 1972, and a Corliss steam engine used to operate lathes are currently on display at the Rome/Floyd Visitor Center.

Located in the vicinity of the foundry was the Shakanoosa Arms Company, manufacturers of the famous Mississippi Rifles.