Chandler-Parsons Blacksmith Shop facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Chandler-Parsons Blacksmith Shop
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | 107 Dawes Street, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1860 |
| NRHP reference No. | 89001702 |
| Added to NRHP | October 16, 1989 |
The Chandler-Parsons Blacksmith Shop is a really old building in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. It's now called the Blacksmith Shop Museum. People think it was built around the early 1860s. This shop is special because it's one of the few old blacksmith shops in Maine that still looks almost exactly like it did in the 1800s.
Today, a local history group owns and runs it as a museum. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. This means it's an important historical site!
Contents
Exploring the Old Blacksmith Shop
The Blacksmith Shop Museum is a small, one-story building made of wood. It has a pointy roof and wooden shingles on the outside. There's also a small extra part with a slanted roof on one side. This part is on the western (west-facing) side of the building.
What Does the Shop Look Like?
The front of the building faces south and has four sections. The main door is in one of the middle sections. The other sections have windows that can slide up and down. The big front door has strong, fancy metal hinges.
Inside, the shop is very simple. You can see the wooden beams and supports that make up the building's frame. The museum has many old tools that blacksmiths used back in the 1800s. It's like stepping back in time!
Who Owned the Blacksmith Shop?
The shop was probably built in the early 1860s by a man named Nicholas A. Chandler. His family owned the land where the shop stands. Nicholas Chandler was a blacksmith, but he was also known for raising and training horses.
Later, the shop was owned by Henry Parsons. He was Nicholas Chandler's brother-in-law. People believe Henry Parsons made some changes to the building. He might have changed the roof and added the small extra part with the slanted roof.
Henry Parsons ran the shop as a business until about 1905. After that, people in the area sometimes used it, but not all the time.
The Shop Becomes a Museum
In 1964, the Dover-Foxcroft Historical Society bought the old blacksmith shop. Now, they run it as a museum. The society also built a new building nearby. This new building is used for demonstrations, where you can see how things were made long ago.
The museum is usually open from late May (around Memorial Day) until October. It's a great place to learn about how people worked and lived in the past!
See also
