The Noble Brothers Foundry, a significant machine shop and foundry that manufactured arms during the war was one of the objectives of Colonel Abel D. Streight’s failed raid. Opened by the Noble Brothers in 1847, the foundry was located at First and Broad Streets, a site convenient to the railroad and the Etowah River. In 1861, cannon production increased along with other war-related materials. The giant lathe turned out many cannons for the Confederacy until the Confederate government halted operations due to charges that the foundry was manufacturing inferior products. The investigation into the matter was never completed as the federal army occupied the town and later burned the foundry on November 10-11, 1864. The marks visible on the lathe’s faceplate were made by sledgehammers wielded by Union soldiers attempting to destroy it.
Today, the lathe is displayed outside the Rome Visitors Center at the base of Civic Center Hill, along with a Corliss steam engine used during the war to power the foundry machinery. A trail next to the lathe leads to Fort Norton at the top of the hill.