212 West Main Street | Barrington, Illinois 60010

847-381-1730

BARRINGTON

HISTORY MUSEUM

The Barrington Blacksmith Is Open!
Saturdays beginning in May through the Fall-Weather Permitting
Saturdays - Noon to 4:00 p.m.

Stop by and see our Master Blacksmith Demonstration in our Working Blacksmith Shop in the Barrington Museum Complex at 212 West Main Street, Barrington.

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Admittance: Free to our Members      Non-Members, Donations Appreciated

Preserving Two Milestones in Barrington's History!

The Barrington Histroy Museum's Village Blacksmith shop is a reproduction of the Creet Blacksmith Shop, the area's first working shop that opened prior to the Civil War.  Our Blacksmiths use the original forge from Wichman's Blacksmith Shop, the village's last working blacksmith shop built in 1929 on Station Street.

Etymology of "Blacksmith"

From various sources: A 'smith' is: '...one who works in metal...';'...practioners of skilled manual arts...';..."to forge, fabricate and design...".  A surname since at least 975 A.D.

Also: A person who creates objects from metal (typically iron or steel) by forging the metal using heat, hammers and specialized tools.  The name comes from the Teutonic word "smeithan" meaning to forge and from the black color of the heated iron, so it literally means 'black metal forger'.

Black refers to the material's appearance, as technical names for iron and steel were not developed.  Here are some of the familiar skilled trades associated with 'smithing': goldsmith, tinsmith, silversmith, coppersmith, anvilsmith, bladesmith, brightsmith, gunsmith, shipsmith, anchorsmith, locksmith.