Blacksmith

In many communities, the building of the blacksmith shop was a high priority as horses had to be shod and metal work was needed on early equipment. The blacksmith played an important role in a successful agricultural community.

A well-known example of an early blacksmith shop was built in Sexsmith in 1916, when the community was not yet a village. It was built and operated by Dave Bozarth, who sold it in 1920 to Nels Johnson, a Swedish boarder with blacksmithing experience. Johnson continued to operate the blacksmith shop until 1974. It became the Sexsmith Blacksmith Shop Museum that can be visited today.

Many farmers who were too far from any community would either buy or build their own forge in order to do their own blacksmith work.

Many old timers in the Peace River country point out that the blacksmith remained very important even after the horses were replaced by machinery. This was because parts for repairs were not available for common equipment like John Deere, Massey-Harris, Oliver, and International Harvester. The blacksmith had to make parts to keep machines going, especially during seeding and harvesting seasons.

Throughout the Peace River country the blacksmith was considered to have one of the most stable jobs as there was always a need for his services.

[Back] [Top]