Davies and Thomas Company
Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Established here, 1865, the company was a pio-neer in the manufacture of iron plate for lining underwater tunnels. Projects included the Holland, Lincoln, and Pa. Railroad tunnels and others worldwide. A tunnel segment was displayed at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Founded in the iron-rich Lehigh Valley in 1865, the Davies and Thomas Company mastered a demanding new craft: casting the heavy iron plates that line tunnels bored beneath rivers and cities. Its segments went into landmark works of American infrastructure—the Holland and Lincoln tunnels and railroad bores—as well as projects overseas. A sample of its tunnel lining was proudly displayed at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
Why it matters
This Catasauqua foundry helped make the great river tunnels of modern America possible, a reminder that Pennsylvania iron quite literally held up the transportation networks of a growing nation.
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