The Blacksmith in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg An Account of His Life & Times and of His Craft

"The Blacksmith in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg" by Harold B. Gill is a historical telling from 1978 that looks closely at the lives of blacksmiths in colonial Williamsburg during the 1700s. The book shows just how important these craftsmen were to early American life, blending their skills with the daily needs of the time. It traces blacksmithing back to its beginnings in Virginia, noting the key role early blacksmiths played in keeping the colony alive and helping it grow, all the way from early failed iron production attempts at Jamestown in the early 1600's, to establishing successful ironworks by the mid-1700s. Readers will discover the many jobs blacksmiths did, like creating tools for farming and offering important services to their communities, and find stories of well-known blacksmiths, the methods they used, and the difficulties they overcame in a world that was changing fast economically.