Stewart Iron works, Covington, Kentucky


Stewart Iron Work's First Location, 8th & Madison. They started business here in 1862. This picture is later.	You can see the Stewart location on this Sanborn Fire Map. This is a small piece of a much larger set of Sanborn Fire Maps. More here.	The Stewart Iron Works, The Stewart Iron works was west of Madison, near 17th. Their web site is here. Thanks! to Nancy and Dennis Hanseman for this image.


Interior Views at Stewart Iron Works These men are working on one of most important products of Stewart Iron Works - jail cells. The jail cells of Alcatraz and the front gate of Fort Knox, and hundreds of other notable sites came from Covington, Kentucky. More below.

Assembly Line


A Fence weaving machine at Stewart's	Stewart Iron Work's parade float	Stewart Iron Works, c. 1960's



Alcatraz	Leavenworth	New York City's The Tombs	Sing Sing
The cells at most major American prisons were all made by Covington's Stewart Iron Works.
The catalog (pdf) of jail cell options made by Stewart Iron Works.

The magazine In Kentucky ran this feature on Stewart on 1950.

Stewart Iron Works
from the Behringer-Crawford

Advertising piece from Stewart Iron Works

Advertising piece from Stewart Iron Works
front and back

The 1917 Stewart Iron Works Catalog (pdf). Wow.

The catalog (pdf) of vases made by Stewart Iron Works.


Iron Gate from Stewart Ironworks	The Gates of Fort Knox were made by Covington's Stewart Iron Works.

A variety of Stewart Ads from various old magazines


Stewart's had it's main offices and factory in Covington (left) and a warehouse in Cincinnati (right).		Promotional postcard, front and back

The day Stewart Iron Works thought their payroll lost because their courier decided to stop to see William Howard Taft go by.

“The Stewart Iron Works Company US Motor Truck Division, April 19, 1918. This picture is wonderful for having captured the details of the workers. Stern faces and jaunty hats are in abundance. The Stewart Iron Works Company has a long history in the Tri-state, tracing its founding to 1862 in Covington. The company grew steadily, making all sorts of iron products, from fencing to architectural elements, furniture, bridges, and even jail cells, with operations in Cincinnati and Covington. The company began producing trucks in 1912, and during WWI became the leading supplier to the US Army, building 100 vehicles in 1918. Hard times during the Great Depression caused them to spin off the truck division. Ironically, despite their contribution to the war effort in WWI, Stewart was denied many government contracts in WWII because of its predominantly German-speaking workforce. This led to further declines in the company, but Stewart survived and is still in business today in Erlanger, utilizing old-world techniques to make fencing and other architectural elements.” Terry Garrard, writing on Facebook


Newport had a fire truck from the US Truck Co. (the one on the right)	Rail facility at Stewart, 1918, loading truck radiators

The Salesman's sample of the Alcatraz doors.

Behringer-Crawford is home to a Stewart Iron Works Truck

United States Motor Truck Company, ad from 1922, and 1912

US Truck in Bond Hill
From a Facebook post by John Snyder

United States Motor Truck Company, 1922
southwest corner of 17th & Madison
since 1909

. . . and then there was the time one of the workers shot the president of the company. Here.