An ornate wrought or cast iron fence.
Determining the vintage and make of your antique fence can be very much like following the bread crumbs that led Hansel and Gretel home. Manufacturers typically marked fences on the gate or gateposts. If the fence is marked, you're in luck. Even without markings, there are clues in the fence construction that will likely identify roughly the period in which it was made. Styles were fairly uniform, particularly when they became made of cast iron or, later, mild steel alloy. A little legwork and a lot of luck may lead you to roughly when it was produced and possibly the area, which could narrow the number of manufacturers. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Check the gate or gateposts for a medallion or stamp used by a particular manufacturer. The American Fence and Iron Works Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, placed a shield with their name on the gate. Champion Fence Company's moniker consisted of the company name on a UFO-shaped steel placard. Champion produced fences from 1876 in Kenton, Ohio, until at least 1892, when it manufactured the fence for the Iolani Palace in Honolulu. The Cleaveland Fence Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, produced steel fencing from 1893 through 1901 and was known to stamp its name on fence posts.
2. Look further. A handful of other companies branded gates or fence posts, according to Michael Trinkley, director of the Chicora Foundation, a Columbia, South Carolina, heritage preservation organization and likely the only organization that has researched the steel fencing history. Though scarce, information has been documented on a number of companies. Only a few are listed here so check the references below. C. Hanika & Sons, Celina, Ohio, made cast iron fences in the late nineteenth century through the early twentieth century but no longer existed by 1911. Crockett Iron Works in Macon, Georgia, manufactured fences from 1869 until the 1890s. Sears Roebuck is an anomaly. Its name is stamped on fences but the fences were supplied until 1921 by Stewart Iron Works of Lexington, Kentucky. Stewart remains operational in 2011 and could provide a good resource.
3. Follow the names and cities in which the companies were located if you're fortunate enough to have fencing that is stamped with a manufacturer. Check with the local library for city directories, town histories and catalogs in their archives. Check with the local historical society for any artifacts or information it might have. If no further information is available, the dates the company produced fencing is likely about as close as you can get to identifying the year it was manufactured.
4. Follow the bread crumbs. According to Trinkley, different manufacturing methods and materials were used at different periods. Corrosion is the first thing to look at. Wrought iron, because of its high iron and low carbon mixture, is highly corrosion resistant, and the fence could be dated as late as the 1920s. Mild iron, which has a high carbon and low iron content, rusts easily, is more brittle and will break more easily. Broken rusty posts and corrosion indicate the fence was constructed after World War II.
5. Look at replication of the posts. Identical posts are cast from the same mold, popular in the late 1800s to WWII. Post-WWII, alloyed mild steel was more common. The heavier and more ornate the fence posts, the earlier they were made, according to Trinkley.
Tags: cast iron, Iron Works, bread crumbs, Check with, Check with local, Fence Company, fence posts
