A History of Elmsdale , West, and Brockton , 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 waist-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: David Thompson 1880 George MacLeod 1881 Malcolm Matthews 1889-1900 Donald MacNeill 1889-1909 JohnM. Leonard 1891 Joseph Leonard 1891 Dennis O'Connor 1896 Peter Coughlin 1901 MelvinMacAusland 1909-1926 H.C. Matthews Robert Jeffery Herman O'Halloran George Adams James "Jim" Adams Linus "Tenis" McNeill Alexander White James O' Brien (for his race horses and farm horses) George Stewart II James Stewart David A. Williams William J. Leonard Michael Brennan John Warren James Murray Parmenas Brennan J.P. Clements Wilbert Murphy Danny John Gallant Earl Mc Arthur Herman O'Halloran's blacksmith shop was at the end of the McCarthy Road, where Belle Wedge now lives. Jimmy 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 401