Pocahontas

From the mid-1800s through the early 1900s, blacksmiths in Pocahontas forged and repaired the iron and steel goods that supported daily life and kept wagons and stagecoaches moving on the National Road, making horseshoes, chains, wheel rims, ploughshares, carpenters' tools, sharpened blades, and hardware for shops, homes, and farms. General stores also served the community as all-purpose retail shops, selling groceries, hand tools, cookware, clothing, and other everyday goods, with their stock reflecting local needs. As Pocahontas' economy broadened in the early 1900s to include coal production, stores such as DeLaurenti's and the Pocahontas Mercantile Co. adapted to miners by carrying mining tools and accessories such as carbide lamps. As mass-produced goods reduced the need for blacksmiths, some moved into related work such as automobile sales and repair, and the J.W. Long, Blacksmith & Wagon Repair Shop became Long's Garage. South of the village, Pocahontas Mine, built in 1906, operated until 1942 and at its peak employed about 500 coal miners.

Pocahontas, Illinois · United States