FORGING THE FUTURE --
THE BLACKSMITH

William Williams must have been our area's first blacksmith.  Entries dated to 1744 on his account pages within Nicholas Dupui's general store ledger show purchases "To 101 weight of Iron" and "To 170 weight of Iron".

As to what type of goods were manufactured by a blacksmith, we have a striking testimonial offered by the commander of local Fort Hydshaw, Captain John Van Etten, who in his journal reports:

"May the 7th, 1757.  The men call to their Exercise at the usual time, after which I went w'th 4 men to a Smiths shop whare we made an Instrument to take a Bullit out of my Horse, who was shot when Ser't. Den was Kill'd, and all return'd safe to the fort."

Yet the craft of blacksmithing wasn't restricted to the efforts of a single individual.  Apparently, it was a common enough occupation (as indicated by another entry in the account page of William McNab, also dated to 1744):  "By Sundry Smith work done to the Sum of £2:8:9".

Later, in the 1780s, we see the role of blacksmith assumed by John Starr; his account shows payment to Dupui's store tendered by way of "shaving plow irons & setting 2 horse shoes," and by "iron work of 2 pair of harness". 

The ledger reports a number of items that could have been made by such smiths; a few examples: 

                    -- "to a Crowbar weight 25 lbs."
                    -- "a Sleigh shod with iron"
                    -- "By 5 Days making plows and other work"
                    -- "By shaving plow irons & setting 2 horse shoes"

As to the source of the iron, one notes that the Durham iron furnace (about some forty miles downriver), dates from the year 1727.  The weekly capacity of the furnace was twenty-five tons.