About Colonial Blacksmithing
In Colonial America, the village blacksmith did more than shoe horses. He shaped iron and metal into pots, pans, nails, gates, chains and every other metal item used by the colonists.
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History
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During colonial times, nearly every village had at least one blacksmith. Larger villages and towns often boasted several. In the South, there might have been several blacksmiths working on a plantation who often owned slaves. Across the ocean, the Industrial Revolution was beginning, but the Colonies were still more focused on survival. The blacksmith was a major part of ensuring that survival. Anything metal that was used by the colonists, from cooking pots to plows to nails had to be made by a blacksmith.
The Industrial Revolution, when it finally did reach American shores, spelled the end of the village blacksmith. By the mid-19th century, the village blacksmith had been all but replaced.
Function
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A blacksmith typically began training in his early teens by apprenticing to a working blacksmith. The apprentice was commonly responsible for starting the fire, opening the shop and other chores required to keep the shop working. In return for doing the menial work around the shop, the apprentice watched and learned from the master craftsman.
Colonial Blacksmiths worked metal by heating it in a fire until it was malleable, then using a hammer and forge and other shaping tools to bend and shape it into functional implements. -
Geography
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Blacksmiths worked in every one of the colonies, in both the rural countryside and the towns. As the colonies expanded, blacksmiths traveled with settlers moving west and north. They were a necessary and valued part of the community because smithing was not something that most of the colonists could easily do at home.
Types
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Some blacksmiths specialized in one kind of smithing. They might choose to work on wagon wheels and barrel hoops, becoming wheelwrights or coopers, or work in a shipyard making anchors and chains for the ships. Other blacksmiths specialized in making and repairing farm equipment or repairing and making household metal goods.
Expert Insight
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Today, colonial blacksmithing is a specialized hobby or craft. There are some blacksmiths who work at places like Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts or Colonial Williamsburg where they carry on the craft exactly as it was practiced in colonial times. Others are independent crafters who sell their wares at craft fairs, Renaissance Faires and through craft shops.
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