36 Nebraskaland • January-February 2022
The Blacksmith Shop
By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska
he blacksmith shop was always
one of the fi rst businesses
established in any frontier
community. It was hard to imagine
a world without the clang of a hammer
on an anvil. Blacksmithing is an ancient
trade, dating back millennia to the time
when bronze tools began to replace
stone. Before the Industrial Revolution,
every iron tool was custom-forged by a
blacksmith. Such tools were expensive,
and you didn't replace one if you could
help it. You had it repaired.
The heart of the blacksmith shop
was the forge, where metal was heated
so it could be more easily worked. A
forge had a bellows to make the fi re
hotter and regulate the heat. Near the
forge stood an anvil of hardened steel,
where the blacksmith shaped metal
with a hammer and other tools. Curved
objects were shaped around the anvil's
horn. The anvil's "pritchel hole" was
used when the blacksmith punched
holes in a piece of metal. Special tools
for cutting and shaping metal were
attached to the anvil's square "hardy
hole."
Mass-produced metal items
eventually reduced demand for a
blacksmith's custom-made products,
but many shops adapted to changing
technology. As farming became
mechanized, and as newfangled
automobiles required frequent repairs,
some blacksmith shops evolved into
mechanical shops. Others specialized
as farriers — shoeing horses and mules
— a trade that continues to this day.
N
Visit History Nebraska's website at
history.nebraska.gov.
T
Written on the back of this photo: "Photo from C.A. Duffi eld" and "Mr. C. W. Watson,
Mr. O.S. Watson. In directory, 1890-91." History Nebraska RG3906-10-35
Polk County, Nebraska, circa 1910. History Nebraska RG2407-02-12
