What did blacksmiths make?
Blacksmiths worked iron and steel into a wide variety of items. In a rural shop like this one, the smith met the metalworking needs of his neighbors. He made and repaired farm tools, mill parts, building hardware, fireplace and cooking tools, and often repaired vehicles and shoed horses and oxen as well. By the 1830s, more tools and hardware, produced in specialty shops and factories both in the United States and abroad (especially England) were being sold in stores. As a result, neighborhood smiths were called upon less and less often to make those items. Tool and vehicle repair, horse-shoeing and other custom work continued to be in demand, however.
