John Carr and his partners came to Weaverville in the spring of 1851, and Carr, a blacksmith, quickly established the first blacksmith shop in Trinity County on this site. Known as "Vulcan," he roofed the original pole structure with cow hides to create the shade needed to keep the right heat on the iron. After many town fires, Carr replaced the hide-covered shop with a brick building in 1856, and in May 1857 he leased it to James Hamilton for use as a saloon and billiard parlor. Later in 1857, Frank and John Young bought the business, which became known as the Bank Exchange Saloon. A fire in 1863 gutted the building, but it was rebuilt and Frank Young continued the Bank Exchange Saloon there. Carr sold the property to William Todd in 1875. After passing through a succession of owners, the building was sold to Trinity County in 1917 for use as the new free library, and it remained the county library until 1992. It later passed through more owners before being purchased again in 2015 to house the New York Saloon.