It’s cookout season. The grill is hot, the cooler is full, and somewhere in America this weekend, a cast iron skillet is sizzling over the flames. There’s a good chance it says one word on the bottom: Lodge. For 130 years, in the same small Tennessee town, Lodge Cast Iron has been pouring American iron into American pans — and it’s still the heavyweight champ of the backyard BBQ.
This week we’re shining a spotlight on Lodge, because it’s the perfect example of what the Buy American Campaign is all about: a family-owned company that bet on American workers, never moved its foundry overseas, and built one of the most trusted names in the country one skillet at a time. And with the Fourth of July around the corner, there’s no better time to put a piece of it on your grill.
Why Cast Iron Rules the Cookout
Ask any pitmaster or backyard griller and they’ll tell you: cast iron belongs at the BBQ. Set a Lodge skillet right on the grill grates and you’ve got the perfect surface for crispy-edged smash burgers, a screaming-hot sear on a steak, or seared scallops and shrimp that would slip right through a regular grate.
Cast iron holds and radiates heat better than thin grill grates, so it won’t warp and it delivers that deep, even sear that makes cookout food taste like a steakhouse. Throw a cast iron griddle over the burners for breakfast at the campsite, or drop a Dutch oven into the coals for chili, baked beans, or a skillet cobbler for dessert. One pan, dozens of jobs around the fire.
130 Years in South Pittsburg, Tennessee
The Lodge story starts in 1896, when Joseph Lodge opened a foundry in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. He first called it the Blacklock Foundry, after his friend and minister. In May 1910, a fire burned the foundry to the ground — but just three months later, the company was reborn down the road as the Lodge Cast Iron we know today.
More than a century later, Lodge is still in South Pittsburg, still family owned, and still America’s largest and oldest manufacturer of cast iron cookware. In a town of roughly 3,100 people, the company employs around 400 workers. That’s not a side note — that’s the backbone of an entire community, sustained by people choosing American-made cookware.
Built to Last Generations
Part of what makes Lodge special is that its products are designed to outlive the people who buy them. A well-cared-for cast iron skillet doesn’t wear out — it gets better. The more you cook with it, the more naturally non-stick it becomes. It’s the rare modern purchase that you can genuinely pass down to your kids and grandkids, BBQ after BBQ, summer after summer.
That durability is the opposite of throwaway culture. When you buy a Lodge skillet, you’re not buying something destined for a landfill in two years. You’re buying one pan, made in Tennessee, that can serve your family for fifty years or more.
From Skillets to Dutch Ovens and Beyond
The classic Lodge skillet may be the icon, but the lineup goes far beyond it. Lodge makes seasoned cast iron griddles, grill pans, Dutch ovens, camp cookware, baking pans, and more — exactly the kind of versatile, heavy-duty gear you want for summer. It works on the stovetop, in the oven, on the grill, or over an open campfire.
Whether you’re searing burgers at a Fourth of July cookout, baking cornbread, or simmering a stew at a campsite, there’s a Lodge piece built for the job — and every piece of traditional cast iron carries the same promise: poured and finished in the USA.
Shop Lodge for Grilling Season
If reading this makes you want to add a piece of real American cast iron to your grill before the next cookout, we’ve made it easy. You can browse our selection of Lodge cast iron cookware right in the Buy American Store, where every product is vetted for its Made-in-USA credentials.
Browse Lodge Cast Iron in the Buy American Store →
Every skillet you buy does more than cook a great meal. It helps keep 400 people working in a small Tennessee town, supports a 130-year-old American manufacturer, and casts a vote for the kind of country where things are still built to last — right here at home.
So this summer, when you fire up the grill, make it American iron. With a brand like Lodge, choosing American has never tasted better.
Whenever possible, choose Made in USA.
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