Blacksmiths firing up Rices Landing Forges
The blacksmiths are fired up as they get ready to fire up their forges for the 30th annual Hammer-In this weekend.
Members of the Pittsburgh Area Artist Blacksmith Association and the Appalachian Blacksmiths Association of West Virginia are coming to the historic W.A. Young & Sons Machine Shop and Foundry on Water Street in Rices Landing for the event Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
They plan to unload both their equipment and expertise, inviting the public to see what smithies have been doing for generations.
The first Hammer-In was a hit with history buffs and machine lovers alike. A generation of kids who came with their parents to tour the shop and watch blacksmiths years ago are now returning with their own kids.
Demonstrations happen throughout the day and the fundraiser auction of blacksmith tools, books and hand-forged artifacts begins at 1 p.m.
The machine shop itself is full of the tools and machines that were left when the shop closed its doors in 1966. Volunteer curator Bly Blystone will be in the shop and have the overhead belts turning that once ran every machine on the floor.
“I have a couple of old machines working that haven’t run in years,” Blystone said.
This old machine shop and foundry opened its doors in 1900 and made everything from gears and gates to brooms.
The machines, some which date to the 1870s, and tools offer up a rare glimpse of this region’s early industrial days. PAABA and ABA members spent several years readying the foundry for tours before inviting the public 30 years ago.
Although most visitors drive to the Hammer-In, a two-mile section of the Rails-to-Trails offers a scenic bicycle ride to Rices Landing from Greene Cove in Fayette County. A landing dock on the Monongahela River gives boaters a chance to tie off and walk to the old foundry where river boats once had their engine shafts retooled while they waited.
Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area has stewardship of the foundry and is the sponsor of this year’s event.
For more information, find the 30th Annual Hammer-in at W.A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop on Facebook or call Blystone at 724-710-4898