and elevation of about 2600 feet in the Blue Ridge Mountains.... They have a great working blacksmith shop which is why I went there to start with as I was going to do that when I retired from the Ironworkers so wanted to do one up that
was from that time period. When I got into the Ironworkers, as and apprentice I got to work in the blacksmith shop withi and old German guy who took a liking to me. That was rare of the old timers in the business to do that. They protected their job. By then he was in his late 60's and this was to be his last job. We made our own chisels and it was also the rigging loft where we made up our own chokers etc. That was pretty much the last of the blacksmith shops in this area. Same with the chokers, we now have to have them factory made and meet state and fed codes. I was pretty good at wire cable splicing.... Lost art now pretty much.... On rainy days rather than send the apprentice home, they would put me in the rigging loft making chokers... I had a nice collection of old forgers, bellows, anvils, etc.... Still have some of it, but sold off a lot of it when I saw the health was not going to permit it....I have some nice shots of the blacksmith shop I will dig up....
Here is the the base story of this mill...... Its a real popular spot in the mountains of Virgina. We use to run this road most of the time when we went to see my daughter in Charleston, SC. It was not uncommon for us to be to or 3 days later on arrival to her place. There is a lot to see in these mountains... One of my favorite drives on the east coast. I never run I-95 along the coast, to busy...
Before 1890, on land not far from his birthplace in Patrick County, Ed Mabry had a water-turned lathe, which he used to make chairs. He later worked as a blacksmith in the coal fields of West Virginia. In 1903 he returned to Floyd County and soon began construction of the mill. It was first a blacksmith and wheelwright shop, then became a sawmill. By 1905 it was in operation as a gristmill. By 1910 the front part of the mill was completed and included a lathe for turning out wheel hubs, a tongue and groove lathe, a planer, and a jigsaw. Between 1905 and 1914 he bought adjacent tracts of land, mostly for the purpose of acquiring more water power. Those who knew Ed Mabry thought well of him and have described him as peaceable, easy-going, honest, hard working, a Primitive Baptist, and a Republican. Whatever he needed he tried to make himself, including most of the furniture in his home. He did not travel much, but when he did it was either on foot or in his one-horse Concord wagon.
I will post more on this later if you like. Really neat place if you like old stuff like we do...
Geo