was the site of numerous experiments with artillery and projectiles, culminating in his invention of the Parrott rifle cannon in 1860. In 1843 the foundry also manufactured the USS Spencer, a revenue cutter which was the first iron ship built in the U.S.A. The foundry was busiest during the American Civil War due to military orders: at that time it had a workforce of 1,400 people and produced 2,000 cannon and three million shells. Parrott also invented an incendiary shell which was used in an 8-inch Parrott rifle cannon (the "Swamp Angel") to bombard Charleston. The importance of the foundry for the war effort can be measured by the fact that President Abraham Lincoln visited and inspected it in June 1862. The fame of the foundry was such that Jules Verne, for his novel From the Earth to the Moon, chose it as the contractor for the Columbiad, a spaceship-launching cannon. Decline and demise In 1867, Parrott resigned as superintendent, although he continued to experiment with artillery designs until his death in 1877. Business of the foundry decreased due to competition from more modern techniques of iron and steel production. It had discontinued the use of charcoal and begun to purchase coal from Pennsylvania about 1870. However, it was unable to avoid receivership in 1884 and bankruptcy in 1889. It was sold in 1897 to the Cornell brothers, makers of sugar mills, and ceased operation in 1911. Site archaeology Of the buildings on the site, only the central office building remains intact; the remainder are in ruins. around the site form a preserve owned by Scenic Hudson. It can be visited by a short trail from the nearby Cold Spring Metro-North station. A major archaeological study of the site, funded by Scenic Hudson and performed by Michigan Tech, occurred from 2002 to 2008. The West Point Foundry Archeological Site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2010, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021. See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Putnam County, New York List of National Historic Landmarks in New York References External links Archaeological Investigation of West Point Foundry Yasinsac, Rob, "West Point Foundry", Hudson Valley Ruins (pictures) Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Archaeological sites on the