Blacksmith Shop

This building was erected in 1860. It is made with South Amana brick and is built on a wooden beam frame. It is currently the South Amana Fire Department building.

Each village in the Amanas had a blacksmith. The duties of this person and often times his apprentice were many faceted. They had to shoe horses, make hinges, make iron rims for the wagon wheels, make door latches, make spades, and many other things. They often did repair work on metal objects as well. Most of the craftsmanship done in a specific area, such as blacksmithing, was also tied to the other trade shops as well. When all was said and done, the work was really a community effort. It took everyone doing their part to create and keep the village alive.

This building also served as a machine shop prior to 1929. I know of a family story that involved the blacksmith, my great grandfather, repairing a Model T from Marengo there. Hugo Leichsenring, my oma's father, was the blacksmith in town. He and his apprentice were interested in the car a friend from Marengo had. They decided to have it in the shop and tinker with it. After some work, they decided to take the car for a spin to Marengo and back. While on the way, the car slid from the road and rolled. My great opa was sliced on the head from one of the supports of the soft top. He was rushed home and the doctor was notified. He came and stitched him, but was bleak in his outlook for Hugo. He lay unconscious for several days. The family was very distressed. He eventually did recover, but when he went back to the blacksmith shop, his key no longer fit. His apprentice had changed the locks and taken over as the village blacksmith. Hugo was very hurt by this, for he had taken this man under his wing and taught him. The man had planned on marrying and moving to another village. My great opa never "smithed" again.

The picture that follows was scanned from a book called The Amanas Yesterday by Joan Liffring Zug. This is just a sample of the wonderful pictures held within her book. Her writing also covers a wide variety of topics about communal Amana. It discusses all seven villages and I highly recommend it for those interested in more history and great photography!

"Blacksmiths and horseshoes in 1920's."