Jos. Clark & Son Blacksmiths - West Springfield, MA
Posted by: neoc1
N 42° 05.508 W 072° 37.294
18T E 696698 N 4662706
Jos. Clark & Son blacksmith shop was moved from Chesterfield, NH to West Springfield, MA
Waymark Code: WMBW5F
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 06/26/2011
Views: 1
Storrowton Village Museum preserves the Jos. Clark & Son Blackmith Shop which was once in Chesterfield, NH. This shop was built in the mid-nineteenth century of seam-faced granite from nearby quarries. Since it was constructed of stone, this shop has survived for over a 150 years, while wood framed blacksmith shops have fallen victim to fire or neglect.
The shop was painstakingly dismantled, stone by stone, each piece was numbered and reassembled at its current location in 1930. The shop contains an enormous hand bellows, an old forge, and an ox sling - a huge frame of heavy beams used to confine an ox during the shoeing process.
This building was used by the Clark family until 1868 and is operational during the Eastern States Exposition and various other special events. A smith repairs and fabricates hardware and creates reproduction cooking utensils for Museum programs. There is even a nearby spreading chestnut tree.
Old Location:
An old photo shows the former location for this blacksmith shop. The building with the steeple in the background is the present day Town Hall for Chesterfield. The current picture of the Town Hall shows a perfect match. So, the blacksmith shop was a few meters from this building at:
43 53.134
72 28.249
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There is a $5 parking fee at the Eastern States Exposition when there is an event in progress. All other times access to the grounds is free.
Original Location: N 43° 53.134 W 072° 28.249
How it was moved: Disassembled
Type of move: Region to Region
Building Status: Museum
Related Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
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