Site of the Blacksmith Shop (1897, 1913)
The blacksmith shop was the first building constructed by Percy & Small after they purchased the old Blaisdell shipyard site from William Donnell in 1896. It was furnished with forges, bellows, and anvils for fabricating large quantities of ironwork for the vessels. One section was a machine shop. The boiler for the steam box (used for steam-bending wood) was also located here.
The shop had a clay floor for fire resistance, the yard's only water hydrant (to supply the quenching barrels), and 500 feet of fire hose. Despite these precautions, the shop burned to the ground in 1913. The rebuilt blacksmith shop served until the yard closed in 1920. It was dismantled in the late 1930s.
[Background photo caption reads]
A good view of the blacksmith shop on launch day for the schooner M.D. Cressy in 1899.
Courtesy hmdb.org
