The Association for Industrial Archaeology organization is for people who share an interest in Britian’s industrial past. This site provides information on the benefits of membership, details on joining, schedule of events, abstracts of a recent IA Review and a subject index to IA Review as well as links to other IA related sites.

The Association for Preservation Technology International is is a cross-disciplinary membership organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for conserving historic structures and their settings.  APT members, who hail from more than 30 countries, include preservationists, architects, engineers, conservators, consultants, contractors, craftspersons, curators, developers, educators, historians, landscape architects, students, technicians, and other persons directly involved in the application of methods and materials to maintain, conserve, and protect historic structures and sites for future use and appreciation.

The Construction History Society of America (CHSA) is dedicated to the study of the history and evolution of all aspects of the built environment—its creation, maintenance and management. It is a forum for scholars and professionals in the field to share, meet and exchange ideas and research.

The Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) was established in 1969 by the National Park Service, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Library of Congress to document historic sites and structures related to engineering and industry. Appropriate subjects for documentation are individual sites or objects, such as a bridge, ship, or steel works; or larger systems, like railroads, canals, electronic generation and transmission networks, parkways and roads. The Library of Congress maintains an extensive digital collection of HAER-produced photographs, drawings, and reports.

The Newcomen Society (UK) for the study of the history of engineering and technology is a membership organization, located in London, England. Members are interested in all phases of engineering; civil, mechanical, electrical, structural, aeronautical, marine, chemical and manufacturing. The Society has regular evening meetings where original research papers are presented, summer meetings in the UK and other countries, local visits of interest as well publishing two publications, Links: the bulletin of the Newcomen Society (newsletter) and the Transactions of the Newcomen Society (Past issues are online).

The Public Works Historical Society promotes the study and preservation of public works.

The Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) The SHA was formed in 1967 and is the largest scholarly group concerned with the archaeology of the modern world (A.D. 1400 to the present). The main focus of the SHA is the period since the beginning of European exploration. This site provides information about Historical Archaeology, membership, on-line services, publications, annual meetings, research tools and careers in historical archaeology.

The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) was formed in 1958 and is dedicated to the historical study of technology and its relations with politics, economics, labor, business, the environment, public policy, science, and the arts. SHOT includes almost 1500 individual members and 1000 institutional subscribers. An international society, SHOT meets annually in North America or Europe and also jointly sponsors smaller conferences focused on more specialized topics of common interest with other scholarly societies and organizations. Technology and Culture, a quarterly journal, is published by The Johns Hopkins University Press for the Society for the History of Technology. SHOT’s Current Bibliography in the History of Technology is also published as part of Technology and Culture. In addition, SHOT publishes a quarterly newsletter, available on this Website, and, jointly with the American Historical Association, a booklet series, Historical Perspectives on Technology, Society, and Culture.

TICCIH – The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage
The world organisation for industrial heritage, promoting preservation, conservation, investigation, documentation, research and interpretation of our industrial heritage. This wide field includes the material remains of industry – industrial sites, buildings and architecture, plant, machinery and equipment – as well as housing, industrial settlements, industrial landscapes, products and processes, and documentation of the industrial society. Members of TICCIH come from all over the world and include historians, conservators, museum curators, researchers, students, teachers, heritage professionals and anyone with an interest in the development of industry and industrial society.

Historic Bethlehem Partnership (http://www.historicbethlehem.org) administers the Colonial Industrial Quarter in historic downtown Bethlehem, PA. Colonial Moravian technological ingenuity created America’s first industrial park on this site. Opening the doors of these restored and reconstructed buildings reveal how waterpower and human power combined to make work easier 260 years ago. Animal hides became leather in the 1761 Tannery while the 1762 Waterworks, a National Landmark, housed early America’s first pumped town water system. The 1869 Luckenbach Mill ground grain into flour until 1949 and today houses the administrative offices of the Historic Bethlehem Partnership. The reconstructed 1750/1761 Smithy with its anvils, forges, and bellows was the worksite for the men who worked in iron-the blacksmith, locksmith, and nailsmith.

Big Brutus (www.bigbrutus.org) features information about a massive dragline (stripping shovel) preserved and open to the public near West Mineral, KS. The 160-ft.-tall shovel is a Bucyrus Erie Model 1850B. The museum also has exhibits on Kansas coal-mining history.

The British Engineerium  Detailed information about a restored working Victorian pumping station and museum of steam and mechanical antiquities. Web site includes the history of the pumping station and info about the many different steam engines in the musuem.

Concrete (www.concrete-wa.com), a small town in Washington’s northern Cascades, is the former home of the Washington Portland Cement Co. and the Superior Portland Cement Co.The town’s Web site has info on the Concrete Heritage Museum,Great Northern Rwy., cement- industry sites, and reinforced-concrete arch bridges, dams, and buildings. The town is using industrial heritage to promote tourism.

Eco Museum Bergslagen A presentation in pictures and text of the industrial history of the iron making region Bergslagen, Sweden from around 500 B.C. up to the present. Text can be displayed in both English and Swedish.

European Route of Industrial Heritage is a network of the important industrial heritage sites (with links and info on the routes) in Europe. The routes consists of the anchor points: the outstanding industrial monuments in the former heartlands of the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany.

The Industrial Heritage Association of Ireland (IHAI) was established in June 1996 to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the many thousands of sites, monuments and items of machinery that together constitute our industrial heritage.

Ironbridge Gorge Museums. provides detailed information about 7 historical sites run by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. The Ironbridge is listed as a World Heritage Site. The Ironbridge Gorge Museums include the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron & Darby Houses, Blists Hill Victorian Town, Coalport China Museum and Tar Tunnel, Museum of the Gorge, the Iron Bridge & Tollhouse, Jackfield Tile Museum and the Broseley Pipeworks.

Georgia, Rails and Phones (www.SAMshortline.com). Savannah-Americus-Montgomery RR (SAM) began operating an excursion train in central Georgia last year. Line runs west from Cordele to Plains, where passengers disembark to explore the hometown of Jimmy Carter. Another stop, the Georgia Rural TelephoneMuseum in Leslie, housed in a 1920s cotton warehouse, has a large collection of vintage telephone and communications equipment.

Harriston Coal & Reclamation Historical Park (www.hcrhp.org) The Harrison Coal & Reclamation Historical Park was founded and established in 1992 for purpose of forming an organization with the major goal of saving and acquiring the Silver Spade when its working days are over for good.

National Canal Museum (www.canals.org). Activities and programs in Easton, PA (tour host—Fall Tour 2002, Lehigh Valley). Historian Lance Metz [SIA], answers questions about canals in the ?Ask Lance? section.

The National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem, Pa., is dedicated to preserving America’s rich industrial heritage. It is located in a 100-year-old former Bethlehem Steel facility on the largest private brownfield in America. The Museum is home to exciting exhibits, engaging programs and amazing history.

Nevada’s Industrial Heritage (www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/nevada/).Three Historic Cities: Carson City, Reno, and Virginia City? is an on-line travel itinerary of 57 NR-listed historic places. Featured prominently are mines and railroads, and the stories of the people who built them.

Wabash & Erie Canal (www.wabashanderiecanal.org) Learn about the history of this Indiana canal and the new canal museum in Delphi.

Bridgeport Working Voices from the 20th Century (www.bridgeporthistory.org), a site developed by the Bridgeport (CT) Public Library, tells the story of the city’s industrial and labor heritage through oral histories with workers, photos of industrial scenes, and corporate histories of dozens of firms.

Northampton Silk Industry Project (www.smith.edu/hsc/silk) Activities and exhibits exploring the history of the Massachusetts silk industry as part of a year-long silk celebration in Northampton. Smith College students have restored silk winding and weaving machines, the college art museum has opened an exhibit on the history of the silk industry, and more than 3,000 school children have been raising silkworms. Demonstrations of unraveling cocoons, dyeing and weaving silk.

Trusses – A study by the Historic American Engineering Record (Roof Trusses) – Page 1(PDF), Page 1 Full Page(PDF), Page 2(PDF), Page 2 Full Page(PDF) This was a poster printed by the Montgomery C. Meigs Original chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology, National Museum of History and Technology, 1976, using drawings made by the Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service by Arnold David Jones, artist.

Diners (www.americandinermuseum.org). Learn about the architecture and manufacture of diners at the American Diner Museum Web site. Also, where to find some good eats! Fabulous Ruins of Detroit (www.detroityes.com/home.htm). Treasure trove of photos of Motor City landmarks in varying degrees of disrepair and decay by photographer Lowell Bioleau.

Gas Burners (www.stoveburner.com) depicts 162 gas burners from various appliances such as kitchen stoves, space heaters, hot-water heaters, and many types of specialty appliances.

How Everyday Things Are Made (http://manufacturing.stanford.edu). More than 4 hrs. of video showing the manufacture of 40 different products including candy, cars, airplanes, and bottles. Produced by the Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing at Stanford U.

From the Stove to the Electric Range. Canada Science & Technology Museum’s stove and electric range collection. Topics include fuel choices; kitchen stove manufacturing in Canada; electrification and spin-off industries; early electric cooking, 1900-20; different styles of electric range, 1920-40; industrial design and standardization, 1940-60; innovation and sophistication in the 21st century; marketing and consumerism; and energy consumption and efficiency. Developed by Louise Trottier [SIA].

Chicago’s Transit Architect, Arthur U. Gerber: His Life & Work (1878-1960) Web site includes photos and info about his transit buildings and their history and use as well as his other designs and the importance of businessman Samuel Insull to the transit industry.

Flying Yankee. Group has raised $2.5 million toward the restoration of the former Boston & Maine RR, art-deco-style, streamlined, steam locomotive, housed in Glen, NH. Of a handful of surviving streamliners, the Flying Yankee could be the first to return to the rails under its own power.

New York City’s High Line. Friends of the High Line advocate preservation of the West Side elevated railroad and adaptive re-use as a pedestrian promenade. NY Central RR built the line in the early 1930s, eliminating 105 grade crossings with city streets. Abandoned 1980.

www.past-inc.org/bibco offers a history of the Berlin Iron Bridge Co., a ‘virtual’ tour of the bridge fabricating plant, lenticular truss patents, and list and map of extant bridges in the state.

California Interstate Highways (www.dot.ca.gov/interstate). CalTrans celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Federal Highway Act of 1956, establishing federal funding for interstate highways, with a brief history, timeline, and photos of expressway and interstate highway construction. Many California freeways pre-date the landmark 1956 act and represented innovative designs.

HAER National Covered Bridges Recording Project – From 2002 to 2019, the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s Office of Infrastructure Research and Development maintained a joint research and technology program for historic covered bridges. This site shares links to HAER documentation and engineering research projects, National Historic Landmark context study and 7 nominations of covered bridges, the full program of the 2013 National Covered Bridge Conference, and two publications.

Historic Bridges: From The Brooklyn Bridge To The London Bridge And Beyond – An extensive collection of links related to bridges, bridge construction, and bridge history worldwide.

King Bridge Company (Cleveland Ohio) was a late 19th Century US bridge building company located in Cleveland, Ohio. Website includes photos, info and locations of about remaining King bridges as well as history of company.

Lincoln Highway (www.nps.gov/mwro/lincolnhighway). The National Park Service’s study to identify historic resources and encourage preservation of features of America’s first transcontinental automobile tourist highway.

Pennsylvania’s Stone Arch Bridges (www.pastonearch.org). PennDOT is seeking public input on preserving stone-arch highway bridges in Philadelphia and surrounding counties.

The Historic Bridge Foundation (http://www.historicbridgefoundation.com) was organized in 1998 and serves as a clearinghouse for info on the preservation of endangered bridges as well as providing assistance, consulting & education on preserving historic bridges. The web site includes or will soon include a variety of pages on types of bridge construction, bridges in Texas and New Mexico as well as related links on bridge construction and listings of historic bridges by state.

Automobile in American Life (www.autolife.umd.umich.edu) is a new on-line archive developed by the University of Michigan-Dearborn and The Henry Ford, funded by the NEH and the DaimlerChrysler Corp. Fund. The site is copiously illustrated with archival photos and features scholarly essays and case studies on the automobile’s relationship to labor, gender, race, design, and the environment. Also included are more than a dozen oral histories of major automobile designers. Supplemented by a variety of materials for teachers and students.

John J. Harvey Historic Fire Boat (http://www.fireboat.org) Learn about history and preservation efforts of the John J Harvey NYC fireboat. Site also includes photo grallery and events calendar.

Lake Champlain Breakwaters (www.nan.usace.army.mil/business/prjlinks/culture/index.htm). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NY Dist., page contains information on historic construction techniques gathered on the Plattsburgh (NY) breakwater and further underwater exploration of the Burlington (VT) breakwater.

Wright Flyer (www.wrightexperience.com). Web site describes a replica of the original Wright Flyer being built in VA, to be flown at Kitty Hawk in Dec. 2003 on the 100th anniversary

Lost Labor: Images of Vanished American Workers, 1900-1980 (www.lostlabor.com) is a selection of 160 photographs excerpted from a collection of more than 1,100 company histories, pamphlets, and technical brochures. Web site developed by Raymon Elozua [SIA].

Implosion World (www.implosionworld.com) is a Web site with photos of demolitions, listed by class (bridges, water towers, chimneys, etc.). Click on ?Photo Gallery? or ?Blasts from the Past.? Warning this web site will upset a lot of us !

Photographs on Industrial History & Architecture….Great Industrial (esp. heavy industry) photographs from around the world and of many industries.  Harald Finster, Seffenter Weg 29, 52074 Aachen, Germany.

The Way We Worked (www.archives.gov/press/press-kits/way-we-worked) is an exhibit of about 80 exceptional historic workplace photos that ran at the National Archives in Washington, DC, through May 2006. A selection of the photos are on-line, and there is an accompanying book.

Panama Canal Murals (www.pancanal.com/eng/history/murals/index.html). History and views of the beautiful murals of building the canal in the Administration Building (tour site-1996 SIA Study Tour)

The Cliff Mine Archeology Project Blog. Documenting an historic native copper mine in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan and Michigan Tech University Field Archaeology projects.

West Point Foundry Archaeology by Michigan Tech
The site of the West Point Foundry in Cold Spring, New York was once a clustered mass of industrial buildings and transportation networks. Serving as one of the major producers of ordnance during the Civil War and the manufacturer of sugar machinery, railway locomotives, and the Nation’s first iron ship, the West Point Foundry is on the National Register of Historic Places and remains immortalized in Jules Verne’s “From the Earth to the Moon.” Now, it lies forested and disheveled with only wall foundations visible on the surface. The project also collected over 250 historic maps and photographs. A map of the 87-acre site resulted from the data collected; CAD and GIS programs were used to manipulate the data to aid future research and excavation. The current landowners, Scenic Hudson Land Trust can also use the maps for site stabilization, interpretation, and preservation.

Svalbard Archaeology
In 2004 a group of international archaeologists gathered at Longyearbyen, Norway, to document, through mapping and photography, the remains of the Artic Coal Company (ACC) and the related Old Longyear City. The ACC and Old Longyear City were the products of American Industrialist John M. Longyear, who owned this mine from 1905 to 1916. Archives in Longyearbyen and Tromsø, Norway, and Houghton, Michigan, containing historic documents in Norwegian and English languages were an important basis for this survey.  The research group consisted of students, faculty, and professional staff from the Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Russia, and the United States. They also examined Advent City, Coles Bay, and Bruce City, former coal mining communities in the area. Information gathered during this survey will appear in report form and serve as a guide for future work at these sites.

Industrial Archaeology MTU IA Program Past Projects

Industrial Archaeology Review published by the Association for Industrial Archaeology (UK) (See IAR abstracts 1997 to 2002) by Maney Publishing

Modern Inventors Documentation (MIND) (http://invention.smithsonian.org/MIND) is a database that identifies the invention-related holdings of hundreds of archives across the U.S. Developed as a guide to researchers by the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center.

Journal of Field Archaeology

Yahoo Links to Archaeology and Anthropology

The National Register of Historic Places on the Web. http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/ Includes info about the register and listing a property.

The Newcomen Society (UK) for the study of the history of engineering and technology is a membership organization, located in London, England. Members are interested in all phases of engineering; civil, mechanical, electrical, structural, aeronautical, marine, chemical and manufacturing.

The HAER (Historic American Engineering Record-http://www.cr.nps.gov/hdp/haer/index.htm) homepage in the the National Park Service website.

I.A. Recordings Information and details about available videos on industrial archaeology subjects and processes. Subjects include bricks & pipes, Civil Engineering, docks & ports, iron & steel, metal working, mills, mining, railways, bridges and much more. Also on the web site is one of the most comprehensive list of links to other Industrial Archaeology related web sites around the world (over 640 links).

The Society for Industrial Archeology now offers Industrial Heritage Preservation Grants from $1000 to $3000 for the study, documentation, recordation, and/or preservation of significant historic industrial sites, structures, and objects. Awards are made to nonprofit organizations and qualified individuals. Contributions of in-kind services, as well as cash resources from the sponsoring and cosponsoring agencies may qualify for matching purposes. Funds may be used for a range of projects including, but not limited to: increasing public awareness of preservation efforts, photography, videography, preparing inventories and developing measured drawings of extant significant industrial sites, structures, maritime facilities and industrial artifacts. Grant recipients must agree to prepare a written summary of their project suitable for publication in either the SIA Newsletter and/or for Industrial Archeology, the Society’s scholarly journal. Grants are open to qualified individuals, independent scholars, nonprofit organizations and academic institutions. Substantial participation from state, county, or local history organizations is encouraged, although such groups do not necessarily need to be a sponsoring agency. Awards are limited. Applications are accepted year-round and, unless circumstances warrant, awards will be announced following a regularly scheduled meeting of the SIA board.