This building was moved from the Morgan Farm on King Hill Road to the Historical Society Village in 1972. A gift of Richard Chatellier, it had been used to house small livestock.

Because every village needs a blacksmith shop and our 19th century village didn't have one at the time, the building was dismantled, marked, and re-erected on its original granite foundation under the direction of Dan Allen, an engineer and long-time New London resident.

It should be noted that the top plates on both the north and south sides of the building are carefully joined, as single pieces of lumber adequate to make the extremely long span were not available. Also noteworthy are the number of cut nails used both for construction and as hanging devices throughout this space.

Dan also did the original brickwork for the chimney and the forge. Though the forge was intended for regular use as part of the Village's life, it was not operated for several years in the early 2000's, for lack of a qualified artisan to take it in hand. In 2013, the Blacksmith Shop was re-opened and we are pleased to have Don Schad of Elkins as our resident blacksmith.

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Watch the Fourth Grade visit (2:18 long, limited / no audio)

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