The Erie City Iron Works was founded by Pennsylvania capitalist Bethuel Boyd Vincent (1803-1876) as the Presque Isle Foundry in 1840. The firm operated as a partnership, originally known as Vincent, Himrod & Co., with William and David Himrod and William H. Johnston as the other partners. The partnership underwent many changes between 1840 and 1864, but Vincent remained the dominant, though silent, partner throughout.

The Erie City Iron Works was a major manufacturer of boilers, stationary and portable engines and machinery for sawmills and steam riveting. It also manufactured railroad freight and passenger cars. By 1880 it was one of the largest manufacturers of boilers and engines in the United States.The plant was expanded to include a machine shop, and it was renamed The Erie City Iron Works in 1851, the year in which Erie became an incorporated city, and incorporated on January 12, 1865.

Vincent retired in 1860 and in 1866 the firm came under the complete control of George Selden (1827-1893) and John H. Bliss (1823-1907) as Selden, Bliss & Co. The new owners expanded the firm into a manufacturer of national reputation. After Bliss retired in 1895, members of the Selden family retained control until 1966, when they sold their interest to the Zurn Manufacturing Company of Erie, a manufacturer of drains and other specialized iron and steel fittings. This firm was actually a 1901 offshoot of the Erie City Iron Works.