Blacksmith Shop / La Forge

This functional structure exhibits architectural elements which evoke a nostalgic tribute to the large, ORIGINAL BLACKSMITH SHOP which occupied this site until 1961 was bustling hub of activity for a sawmill, HAWKESBURY MILLS, which was internationally recognized as THE LARGEST SAW MILL OPERATION IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE one half of the nineteenth century., The bell tower was a unique feature the Hawkesbury Mill Blacksmith Shop it rang at prescribed hours to announce the working tempo of the mill and served as the much feared fire alarm it witnessed historic moments it rang loudly and forcefully in 1925 for what became an enormous conflagration which destroyed massive stock piles of lumber including a luxurious residential estate on Hamilton Island Again on 1928, a rang out to alert the outbreak of a fire which ingloriously consumed the once HISTORIC: SAW MILLS., THE BLACKSMITH SHOP and the adjacent building which served as an ADMINISTRATION OFFICE and GENERAL STORE escaped the inferno. They are outlined on the FIRST RARE, "ARCHIVED MAP" of 1832 which visually identified the land mass then occupied since 1811 by the succeeding proprietors of the ever-expanding saw mill enterprise that had been founded in 1805., AT the company's zenith (1830-1800) THE SAW MILL BLACKSMITH and his apprentice(s) were involved in the REPAIR OF MACHINERY of what was an enormous saw mill enterprise. They were also called upon to produce and repair CUSTOM HARDWARE, MISCELLANEOUS FITTINGS and tools required throughout the saw mill property. The blacksmith kept some two bundred horses WELL SHOD and he repaired the HARDWARE on the leather harnesses. He also "kept in repair all of the IRON COMPONENTS of over two hundred CARTS, WAGONS, SLEIGHS and company CARRIAGES. As well, the blacksmith fabricated IRON RIMS, which he installed on wooden wagon whells crafted by mill cartwrights. Before the invention of hardened, flexible steel and welding technology the blacksmiths were very creative in resolving difficult tasks., THROUGHOUT THE AGES, IT HAS REMAINED A CONSTANT TRUISM that blacksmiths were essential to the smooth running of a community. They were welcomed in politics and organizations because of their accrued general overview of the community, business expertise problem solving adeptness, competency in the use of mathematics and social adroitness. Thus over the centuries blacksmiths became romanticized into the FOLKLORIC GIANTS of our imagination and our heritage. THEY HAVE BEEN IMMORTALIZED in classical opera and music, folk songs, ballads theatre, legends, literature across the centuries, formal and informal poetry and multitudinous film production. , "The village smithy stands...a mighty man is he" , (The Village Blacksmith, H.W. Longfellow, 1842), ,