GRANT COUNTY

Enriches Experience

A Cast-iron Constitution

In 1911, three papermakers incorporated a Marion company built on a better part for a paper machine. More than a century later, Bahr Brothers is still pouring metal on South Lincoln Boulevard. Drawing on local archives and a conversation with President Tim Street, we trace how shared gains, new methods, and local owners kept it here.

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A Century of Iron in Marion

In 1923, a Marion man ran 11 foundries across three states. Atlas Foundry Company is the only one still owned by the founding family and still pouring iron in the county where the enterprise was directed. Drawing on local archives and a conversation with Jim and Bill Gartland, we trace how steady reinvestment, deliberate specialization, and a diversified customer base kept it here, and what that means for manufacturing retention in Grant County.

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