Knight Foundry Alliance

America’s Last Water-Powered Foundry

Knight Foundry is the last water-powered foundry and machine shop in the United States. It has stood in Sutter Creek since 1873, when Samuel N. Knight took control of the earlier Campbell, Hall & Co. operation and renamed it Knight & Co. Born in Maine in 1838 to English parents, Knight apprenticed as a ship’s carpenter before learning metalworking in a Florida machine shop. He arrived in California during the Civil War era and found his calling as a millwright in the gold mining district, working mine construction sites throughout Calaveras and Amador counties before connecting with Campbell and Hall and their foundry in Sutter Creek. He brought in George Horne as his new partner and set about building one of the most consequential industrial operations in the region.

The Knight Wheel

Samuel Knight’s greatest contribution to engineering was a high-speed, cast-iron impulse water turbine — a forerunner of the famous Pelton wheel. It was the newly available high-pressure water of the Sierra foothills that inspired Knight to begin developing impulse water wheels in the first place. His early experiments in 1866 used wooden wheels with shaped buckets and wooden flanges. By 1868, he had upgraded to iron buckets with a curved design and center-discharge water flow. His final innovation was a one-piece cast-iron wheel, which he patented in 1875. Knight Wheels went on to power some of the first hydroelectric plants in California, Utah, and Oregon. The foundry itself ran on the same water-power principle, drawing from Sutter Creek through a system of flumes and penstocks to drive the machinery that cast metal parts for the region’s gold and copper mines. The operation produced stamp mills, hoist works, pumps, ore cars, dredger buckets, and rock crushers — the essential heavy equipment that kept the Mother Lode’s mines running. For 123 years, from 1873 until 1996, the foundry operated continuously.

Historic Recognition

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) designated Knight Foundry a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, recognizing its unique place in American industrial history. It is also a California Registered Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named it one of America’s eleven most endangered historic places, underscoring just how rare and irreplaceable the site is. All of the original equipment and machinery remains in place in its original context — exactly as it was during the foundry’s working years.

Visiting Today

In December 2016, the grassroots Knight Foundry Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, worked with the foundry’s owner and the City of Sutter Creek to transfer the property into public ownership. The alliance now stewards the site, opening it to visitors on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month year-round. On 2nd Saturdays, doors open from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM with the last tour at 3:00 PM, and on 4th Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM with the last tour at 2:00 PM. Visitors explore the foundry at their own pace on self-guided tours while interacting with knowledgeable docents stationed throughout the facility who bring the machinery and its stories to life. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students ages 5 through 17, and free for children under 5 — no reservations required. Private tours for families, groups, and organizations can be arranged by contacting Ron Edgar at theknightfoundry@gmail.com or calling (209) 560-6160. The gift area sells foundry merchandise — aprons, caps, tee shirts, and Pinkerton patterns — with all proceeds funding ongoing preservation.