Early Roots
James McClenaghen emigrated from Northern Ireland to the American mainland due to religious persecution. Upon his arrival in the Thirteen Colonies, McClenaghen purchased a great deal of land in Pennsylvania and began his life anew. The McClenaghen family’s determination to succeed in the new world pushed on through the American Revolution as they supported their patriot friends on the path to victory and the birth of independence in America.

1794
A Dynasty Begins
Following the Revolutionary War, the family name changed to McLanahan and a son, James Craig McLanahan, was welcomed into the world on May 22, 1794.

James Craig grew into a hardworking young man who was determined to build a name for himself. In 1810, he traveled north to Blair County from his family farm near Greencastle, Pennsylvania, and began his career in the iron industry. He started by keeping the books for his uncle’s foundry near Williamsburg (Cove Forge, as it was known), and he became set on learning all that he could about the industry.

After his work at his uncle’s foundry, McLanahan took another job managing a larger forger in Spruce Creek before becoming the manager of operations at one of the area’s largest forges, Bedford Forge.

While at Bedford Forge, he was introduced to the owner"s daughter, Elizabeth King. The two fell in love and were married on May 15, 1827.

James Craig McLanahan
James Craig McLanahan

1835
Creation of the Company
Looking for an opportunity to move into the ownership side of the forge business, James Craig McLanahan took on two investment partners (known only by their last names), Evans and Devine, and bought majority ownership in a foundry operation.

McLanahan, Evans, and Devine created the Bellerophon Foundry in Gaysport. Named after a hero from an ancient Greek legend, the Bellerophon Foundry quickly experienced ownership changes when Devine was bought out by Michael Kelley. Kelley’s small machine and blacksmith shop paired with Bellerophon and the business began to expand.

In 1848, McLanahan bought out his original partner, Evans. Together with his remaining partner Kelley, the men moved the foundry into a canal warehouse situated on a riverbank in Gaysport, renaming the business Kelley and McLanahan.

1835 in Perspective
PT Barnum’s circus goes on tour for the first time
President Andrew Jackson announces that all U.S. debt has been paid
The Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico is signed
Samuel Clemens, later known as Mark Twain — famed American author and humorist, is born
McLanahan Corporation is a global provider of process solutions for a variety of industries including mineral processing, aggregate processing, agricultural and many others.
We know that the challenges of today’s tough marketplace, such as safety and sustainability, require our customers to do more than ever before. McLanahan aims to help our customers meet those challenges by helping them be more efficient, more productive and more profitable. Employing personnel in areas such as process engineering, sales and customer service means that we are able to be your partner in material processing from start to finish.
McLanahan Corporation upholds the highest standards for engineering and manufacturing. Our equipment is known for its reliability and long service life. Customer Service and Field Service teams help us to provide service and support to customers through life of their equipment. We are continuously improving our equipment, designs and processes, both because we are passionate about what we do and because we strive to amaze our customers.
Since 1835, our core values of safety, family and integrity have been at the center of everything we do. We encourage you to get to know us better by checking out our corporate video above or the individual chapters below and learning more about who we are, what we do, where we came from and what the future holds.