A History of Elmsdale, Elmsdale West, and Brockton, Prince Edward Island

When a blacksmith made or repaired iron objects he hammered them by hand on an anvil. An anvil was a heavy iron block weighing up to 250 pounds, usually found near the forge but‘ towards the centre of the blacksmith shop. A chimney with a rectangular hearth jutting out from one side was called the forge. This hearth heated the iron as it contained a wai/st- -high trough about a foot deep, where a fire burned.

Hard coal was used, as it burned at a higher temperature than wood and it was

smokeless.

Behind the chimney and connected by a tunnel to the hearth was a bellows. The

bellows was used to pump air into the trough and bring the coal to a high tempera- ture. The blacksmith heated the iron until it was red—hot and ready to be shaped on the anvil. It Was plunged into a tub of water to cool it.

The following people of this area practiced the skill of blacksmithing:

Herman O’Halloran’s blacksmith shop was at the end of the McCarthy Road, where Belle Wedge now lives. J 1mmy Murray’s shop was on Harry O’ Brien’ s farm, on land now owned by W. P. Griffin. J. P. Clements ordered his blacksmithing tools from

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