The Farrier - Pawhuska, OK - Occupational Monuments on Waymarking.com

County of statue: Osage County
Location of Statue: 210 N. Main St., Pawhuska.
210 N. Main is the location of the Blacksmith House. A historic Landmark, and now used by the Chamber of Commerce of Pawhuska as their offices and a Visitor and Information Center.
Sculptor: Jeri Walker Gonzalez
Statue Erected by: Gift of Hugh R. (Dick) Surber, Jr
Founder: The Bronze Horse Foundry

Text of Plaque:

"A short history of the Farrier:
The meaning of the term "farrier" has changed dramatically over the centuries from a horse doctor to a person who shoes horses. How the change of usage came about isn't clear, and the reason is probably lost in the mists of time. The few remaining sources of information come mostly from old books. Many people are often surprised by the volume of treatments and remedies found in old farriery books and the lack of information on horseshoeing. This is because, historically, a farrier was a horse doctor. It is only in the last hundred years that people who shod horses began calling themselves farriers.

"There are differing opinions on where the word "farrier" originated. One opinion is that the term "farrier" has a possible source from the Latin, faber ferrarius (faber meaning craftsman and ferrarius meaning iron or metal), together literally means blacksmith.

"Another possible source is from a Norman nobleman, Henry de Farrariis, who came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. Unfortunately to add to the confusion, the "Farrariis" name may have been taken from the French town of Ferrieres, situated southeast of Paris. The area around the town had many iron mines, and Henry was possibly connected to the iron trade. Henry was Williams horse doctor. You can see the possibilities of the connection. It has been stated that Henry de Farrariis was instructed by William the Conqueror to superintend and encourage the people he employed as animal doctors were only later called farriers after their overmaster, and this could be the most likely source of the term farrier.

"Another ancient reference to farriers is in 1356, when the mayor of the City of London called together the farriers of London to form the "Mareshals of the City of London" because of the violations committed by the farriers in and around London. Mareshals were in charge of the horse in Norman France." ~ The Farrier's Guide

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