Monumental Robinson Iron
STORY BY BETSY ILER PHOTOS BY KENNETH BOONE, CLIFF WILLIAMS & COURTESY OF ROBINSON IRON
Though the foundry he opened in 1946 did not focus on items like fountains, vases and garden furniture, Joe Robinson, Sr., occasionally made such pieces for a small group of friends and family. The Alexander City native purchased the ornamental patterns for these pieces from some of the country’s foremost Northeastern foundries that closed when styles and politics demanded a change from the Classical age to Arts and Crafts. Among them were patterns from the highly acclaimed foundries of J.L. Mott and J.W. Fiske. Today, those patterns are key in the restoration of historic monuments and landmarks across the nation, and much of that work takes place right here in Tallapoosa County. Joe Robinson’s sons, Joe Jr. and Ricky, saw a future in the egg-and-dart details, leaf embellishments and grand decorations, according to his grandson, Luke Robinson, who has worked in the family business since he was 14 years old. “Joe Jr. and Ricky started Robinson Iron Corporation in a trailer in the back parking lot of my grandfather’s foundry to do catalog items,” Luke Robinson explained. J.L. Mott Iron Works was a maker of cooking stoves, furnaces, fire irons, water tanks and iron pipes that changed the way people lived. Plumbing fixtures, including cast iron enameled bathtubs were a J.L. Mott specialty. The company also exhibited an elaborate cast iron fountain that stood 25 feet tall at the country’s centennial exposition in Philadelphia. J.W. Fiske & Company was among the most prominent American makers of decorative fountains, statuary
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and planters and published beautiful catalogs showcasing their wares. These patterns and more were added to the collection of Joe Robinson, Sr., over time, as he acquired them mostly out of a love for cast iron. Using those classic patterns, the Robinson brothers built a business that has grown to include a variety of fountains, benches, tables, planters and urns. They also were perfectly poised in a go-to position when the aging works of Mott, Fiske and others began to need repairs. “The fountains that Mott and Fiske cast were now 75 to 150 years old, and we had those patterns when these historic fountains needed repairs. And then, those repair jobs brought new fountain jobs,” Robinson said. The projects included the restoration of canopies and subway entrances in New York’s transportation system;
WE MAKE IT GREAT HERE! | FEBRUARY 2022
