Photo of the MonthSeptember, 2001
American Car and Foundry Company, Berwick, PAThe origins of the American Car and Foundry Company in Berwick began with Mordecai W. Jackson in 1840 who built a foundry to manufacture agricultural implements on the corner of Third and Market Streets. William Hartman Woodin, who operated a furnace and foundry at Foundryville on the north side of Berwick, agreed to form a partnership with Jackson that became the Jackson and Woodin Manufacturing Company. The firm soon expanded and by 1860 began to manufacture railroad cars, and with the advent of the Civil War experienced significant growth. When American Car and Foundry Company acquired the Jackson and Woodin Manufacturing Company in 1899, the Berwick plant had become the largest manufacturer of railroad cars in the eastern United States, and by 1907 it employed 5,700 workers. It also had the distinction of manufacturing the first all steel passenger cars for standard railroad service. After World War II broke out in Europe on September 1, 1939, the Berwick plants soon began to make tanks for the United States government. By August 2, 1941, the 1000th tank rolled off the assembly line. In the early 1960s the A.C. & F. operation at Berwick closed its doors which had serious adverse economic impact on the community.
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