the blacksmith shop in the 1800's

Portrait Photography Entry

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Built in the early 1820's in the township of Beverly, this Blacksmith Shop was moved to Westfield Heritage Village for preservation. It's run by three volunteers using techniques from the early1800's.

They work in natural lighting from the windows and fireplace in order to see the glowing color of the metal. The changes in the iron's temperature dictate readiness for forging. The ideal heat and color for most forging is bright yellow-orange.

During the demonstration, a huge bellows was pumped to blow air on the fire to make it hotter to soften the metal.

Watching the man hammer the bright orange tipped iron was interesting. I can only imagine the strength, patience and tenacity he would need to twist and bend the metal into a desired shape.

In the 1800's, the blacksmith's shop was located in a central part of town to service people travelling through as well as the town's occupants. They produced horse shoes, for example, and nailed them to the horse or ox's hoofs. They also made nails, locks, tools, agricultural implements, decorative items, cooking utensils, weapons and the like.

The blacksmith also repaired weapons, lengths of chain, carriage wheels and miscellaneous metal items.

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