DAMARISCOTTA — Jeffrey Miller, a master blacksmith and historian from Waldoboro, will demonstrate his trade from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 23, at the Chapman Hall House, 270 Main St.
Miller will work at his 18th century temporary forge, which he built based on original forges of this type. During his more than 40-year career, Miller worked as the head blacksmith at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and Fort at No. 4 in Charlestown, New Hampshire. His museum-quality pieces have been purchased by a number of individuals and museums across the U.S. and Canada.
During the demonstration at Chapman-Hall House Miller will forge a number of small items and share insights into the daily work of blacksmiths as recorded in their account books and day books. The blacksmith’s work pattern changed according to the season, and Miller will show samples of items that the smith might make for his customers.
Blacksmiths were in demand at a new settlement. Some specialized as white-smiths, wheel-wrights, armorers, and farriers, but a blacksmith who could make plows and axes as well as oven peels and andirons, cooking forks and knives, and also repair firearms became an important tradesman in any colonial community. It is known that Mark Rounds practiced the blacksmith trade at one point in Newcastle during the first quarter of the 18th Century.
Nathaniel Chapman and his family came to Damariscotta from Ipswich, Massachusetts, to practice the house-wright trade in the growing mid-coast settlements. His home, dated to 1754, is the oldest house still standing in Damariscotta. The house is open to visitors every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. until closing for the season on Oct. 8. House tours are $5 per person; children 16 and younger are admitted free.
Chapman-Hall House is one of three Lincoln County Historical Association sites that will offer week-long summer programs for children in June, July and August. For more information about the Lincoln County Historical Association, visit lincolncountyhistory.com.
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