Revere's later years

After the war, finding the silver trade difficult in the ensuing depression, Revere opened a hardware and home goods store, and later became interested in metal work beyond gold and silver. By 1788 he had opened an iron and brass foundry in Boston's North End. As a foundryman he recognized a burgeoning market for church bells in the religious revival known as the second great awakening that followed the war. He became one of the best-known metal casters of that instrument, working with sons Paul Jr. and Joseph Warren Revere  in the firm Paul Revere & Sons. This firm cast the first bell made in Boston and ultimately produced more than 900 bells. A substantial part of the foundry's business came from supplying shipyards with iron bolts and fittings for ship construction. In 1801, Revere became a pioneer in the production of copper plating, opening North America's first copper mill south of Boston in Canton, near the Canton Viaduct.