Northwest Blacksmith Association

Colonial Williamsburg Demo at Fort Vancouver

Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/03/2015 - 10/04/2015
All Day

  Historical Blacksmithing Demonstrations

The National Park Service, the Fort Vancouver Historic Trades Guild and the Friends of Fort Vancouver will be hosting two days of historical blacksmithing demonstrations Saturday October 3, and Sunday October 4, 2015 in the fort blacksmith shop from 9 am to 4 pm each day.   Jay Close a master blacksmith trained at Colonial Williamsburg will lecture and demonstrate blacksmithing techniques used in the 1800s while fabricating tools and utensils that would have been used in the fort kitchen and garden. For almost 30 years the park and trades guild have hosted this type of training for fort blacksmith shop volunteers using Colonial Williamsburg trained blacksmiths. And each year, the training has been open to the public and other interested blacksmiths.

This will be the third time Jay has demonstrated at the fort. He became a journeyman blacksmith at Colonial Williamsburg in 1994, has taught numerous classes on historical ironwork around the U.S., worked at a consultant on the Mel Gibson film ‘The Patriot’, and has published several articles including a case study of the role of the blacksmith in support of construction of Tudor brick mansions.

See below for some samples of garden tools to be demonstrated, forged by Jay.

The cost of attending the demonstrations is $20 per day payable at the door. Participants will receive a free continental breakfast each morning and be treated to a 1840s style Hudson’s Bay Company luncheon on Saturday in the Fort kitchen.

Questions – Contact Tom Dwyer   President, Fort Vancouver Historic Trades Guild   Tdwyer55@comcast.net

Garden Tool Group    Small Rake


Location
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site


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