By PATRICIA JONES
In pioneer days one of the most important people in a town was the blacksmith, so of course Dobby’s Frontier Town has a blacksmith shop. It is located in the west side of the town, beside the jail.
A blacksmith creates items from metal by heating the metal in a forge until it is soft, then working it with a hammer, anvil, and chisel to shape and cut it. If you needed to have a tool built, a new knife, nails, a hinge for your door, a chain, a pan mended, or a shoe on your horse, you went to the blacksmith shop.
During the 1800’s, the US government had a blacksmith at every Army fort. The idea was to provide both Native Americans and settlers with iron tools and repair services. The blacksmith also shoed the Army horses, and that farrier work is what we still think of when we talk about blacksmiths.
The advent of the automobile lessened the demand for blacksmith services, but metal objects still needed to be created and mended. For many years people still needed to have wagon wheels repaired and horses shod.
Today welders provide many of the services formerly offered to a community by the blacksmith. Blacksmiths instead have either become farriers or skilled craftsmen, creating beautiful metal sculptures or hand-wrought knives.
When you tour the blacksmith shop at Dobby’s Frontier Town, you will notice the forge, the bellows, and a variety of tools. During Dobby’s Fall Festival in September, there is usually a blacksmith demonstrating the skill.
Dobby’s Frontier Town is located at 320 East 25th Street/ Nance Road, Alliance. The town is open 10-6 daily for self-guided tours, and donations are appreciated.