The smelting of iron ore and the craft of blacksmithing have been enormously important to human cultures world-wide for over 3,000 years. Blacksmiths were so essential to ancient peoples that blacksmith gods appear in Greek, Roman, and numerous other mythologies from Africa to Ireland.  For thousands of years until the Industrial Revolution, blacksmiths made the tools we farmed with, the implements we cooked with, the nails we built with, and the weapons which provided our meat. Until the 19th century most towns in Europe and America had a blacksmith.

On Sunday, March 18 at 2 p.m. at the Boothbay Railway Village, Jim Kearney will explore the history and the lore of this ancient craft in his talk In his talk “The Art and Mystery of Blacksmithing.” Kearney is Boothbay Railway Village’s resident blacksmith and delights visitors with his wonderful stories and an extensive knowledge gained in over thirty years of blacksmithing. He has worked and studied blacksmithing in Ireland, focusing on general, rural blacksmithing, and in Germany where blacksmithing is regarded as high art.

The event is free but a $5 donation will be greatly appreciated. The talk will take place inside the Spruce Point Chapel at the Boothbay Railway Village, 586 Wiscasset Road (Route 27) in Boothbay, Maine. For more information about the Museum visit www.railwayvillage.org.