Blacksmith and Wagonmaker Shops

Blacksmith and Wagonmaker Shops. . Blacksmith Shop , But 1826, the Harmony Society's blacksmith shop stood across the street from here on the west side of Merchant Street near Street. The building, valued at $400, contained five forges. One feature of the Society's first blacksmith shop at Harmony, Pennsylvania may have also been a part of this one. There in 1811, John Melish observed "a dog turning a wheel for blowing the bellows" via a treadmill. The blacksmiths made and repaired parts for wagons, buggies, sleds, horse collars, tack, tools, and agricultural implements. A farrier used part of the shop to shoe horses. The Society purchased raw materials from several sources: English Crowly or blister wrought iron and steel from Pittsburgh, sheet iron from Philadelphia, and cast iron from Montgomery Clendinen's iron works at Beaver Point, now known as Stone's Point in Bridgewater, Pennsylvania. The Harmony Society had purchased Beaver Point Iron Works before settling at Economy and sold it to Stephen Stone in 1820. , , Harmonist blacksmiths at Economy , . Johann Georg Bauer (1795-1882), head boss , . Andreas Kotrba (1807-1880), head boss, successor to Bauer , . Johann Friedrich Arnold Bentel (b. 1789) , . Christoph Diem (1800-1874) , . Johannes Eberle (1788-1868) , . Balthesar Henning (b. 1833) , . Gottlieb Hilarus Henning (1789-1871) , . Johann Joseph Kotrba (b. 1771) , . Jacob Schaal (1802-1824) , . Tobias Schmidt (b. 1768) , . Peter Schreiber (1757-1833) , . Jacob Stumpp (1811-1877) , . Jacob Vaihinger (b. 1790) , . Jacob Vogt (b. 1811) , . David Wagner (b. 1803) , . Simon Wagner (b. 1806) , . Bernhard Ziegler (b. 1793) , . George Ziegler (b. 1810) , The youngest Harmonist on record to work in any of the Harmony Society's blacksmith shops was Jacob Schaal (1802-1824), who was apprenticed at the age of six. , , Wagonmaker Shop , Hired wagonmaker John F. Boss (b. 1867) rented the blacksmith and wagon shops in the 1890s from the Harmony Society. His family also worked as hired blacksmiths. The property was sold to W.M. Boyd in 1903, and in 1901 the former blacksmith shop was razed. Old Economy Village's blacksmith shop on Church Street was created for demonstrations inside an old utility shed which served as a garage for Harmonist Trust John Duss (1860-1951). , The wagon shop was situated on Fifteenth Street west of the blacksmith shop. The wagonmakers chiefly made and repaired wagons for the Harmony Society and the outside community, but also occasionally built bridges. , , Harmonist Wagonmakers at Economy , . Jonathan Lenz (1807-1890), foreman , . Johannes Bamesberger (1802-1870) , . Georg Bentel (b. 1784) , . Jacob Bessan (1800-1881) , . Johann Joseph Hörnle (1787-1855) , . Philipp Heinrich Schöenmann (b. 1831) , . Heinrich Zeltmann (b. 1785) , . Johann Penotus Zundel (b. 1792) , Harmonist Wheelwrights at Economy , . Johann Ludwig Bauer (b. 1800) , . Michael Forstner (b. 1798) , . Jacob Müller (b. 1819) , . Gottlieb Regori Ruff (1773-1856) , . Johann Penotus Zundel (b. 1792) , Wheelwrights made or repaired wooden wheels for vehicles.