Blacksmith Shop

In the community's early days, the blacksmith shop played an integral role by making and repairing farming tools and equipment, wagons and their parts, horseshoes, and household items. The community's first blacksmith was Perkins White, who operated a blacksmith shop in 1890. Later Alonzo W. Acred served as the community's blacksmith and operated the Blacksmith Shop that stood on the site of the present shop. Acred was also a charter member of the Masonic Lodge of Arlington, founded in 1908, and during his time as blacksmith the lodge used the shop's second floor as its meeting hall until it built its own building in 1947. Earl Beaver later worked as the blacksmith there until the shop closed in 1971, and the last project made there was a covered wagon that he made for Sam T. Wilson in 1968. The original Blacksmith Shop, owned by Wilson, stood at the current site until 1991, when it collapsed before restoration. Although there were plans to reconstruct it with salvaged wood from the collapsed building, an arson fire destroyed the building where that wood was stored, so the replacement was built with new rough-cut wood from a sawmill in Hardeman County. In 1999 Wilson donated the property to the Arlington Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities, reconstruction began that same year, and it was completed in 2000. Blacksmithing tools, farm tools, equipment, and a blacksmithing forge are displayed there; the forge was completed in 2003 and is one of the few working forges in Tennessee.

Arlington, Tennessee · United States