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31st annual Hammer In Festival
very year, visitors get a chance to take tually the foundry also provided auto repair. a step back into history at the W.A Upstairs, the hardware store is still fully inYoung and Sons Foundry & Machine tact with its stock. Shop’s Annual Hammer-In Festival along The foundry closed in 1965 and sat neWater Street in Rices Landing. This year glected until 1985, when it was purchased marked the 31st year for the event, held on by the Greene County Historical Society. April 20. The Hammer-In is a free festival, Repairs were made and it was opened to the open to the public, and is a day full of black- public. In 1998, the foundry was placed on smith demonstrations, guided tours, auc- the National Register of Historic Places. In tions, and more. 2009, the historical society turned over the For more than 30 years, the Foundry foundry to non-profit Rivers of Steel and exhas welcomed visitors on the third Satur- tensive repairs were made, including a new day of April to stop in and take a glimpse roof and windows. Last year, the W.A. Young into Greene County’s early industrial his- and Sons Foundry & Machine Shop was destory, starting up the turn-of-the-century ma- ignated a National Historic Landmark. chines and inviting area blacksmiths to hold Members from the Pittsburgh Area demonstrations. The foundry sits as it did the Artists Blacksmiths Association (PAABA) day it closed, with tools scattered around and and the Appalachian Blacksmiths Associaeven that day’s newspapers still in their spots. tion (ABA) demonstrated hammer-on-anIt is the only surviving - and functional! - ex- vil blacksmithing processes and amid the ample of the industrial evolution from local sounds of hammers ringing on anvils, creblacksmith to mass production machining. ated ornamental and functional items, some William A. Young opened the machine of which were offered for sale. Demonstrashop in 1900; in 1908, the foundry was tors included Wayne Kelley, Ed Appleby, Rex added, and then electric added in 1928. All Baughman, Tim Schiffbauer, Gary Shriver, equipment located in the foundry dates from Barry Hixson, and John Elder. An auction at 1870 to 1920. An elaborate system of belts 1pm had various blacksmithing items, phoand pulleys spread throughout the shop runs tographs and handcrafted artworks available 25 pieces of machinery, each independent of for bidding; the proceeds benefitted the Mathe other and fully operational, originally operated by steam and now gasoline. During guided tours with Bly Blystone, visitors could watch the machinery run with the belts and pulleys operating throughout the machine shop. Young created many of the patterns used in the foundry, and a special type of wood was used to withstand the humidity changes with no warping. Sketches The shop’s small hardware store sits mostly intact upstairs. for parts can still be seen hanging on the machine shop’s walls, along with tools, parts, gears, and completed products. In the foundry, the original coke oven still sits, with unused coke piled beside it. Rices Landing was once a hub for commercial distribution, and the shop’s initial commerce came from steamboat repairs. Nearby coalmines were also a key Outside, blacksmiths and other vendors have specialized part of the business, a harditems for purchase. ware store was opened on the second floor, and even-
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chine Shop, PAABA and ABA. A Capital Development & Improvement grant was presented to Rivers of Steel and the Foundry by the Greene County Tourist Promotion Agency. If you missed the Hammer In this year, you can get a taste of it every Sunday, from 11am4pm, when the shop is open for tours with caretaker Bly Blystone. FMI or to make reservations for a Sunday tour, call 724-710-4898.
Attendees mingle on the first floor of the W.A. Young and Sons Foundry & Machine Shop during the 31st Annual Hammer In.
Blacksmith Gary Shriver educates an audience while Wayne Kelley, another blacksmith, demonstrates hammer on anvil techniques behind him.
GreeneScene
GreeneScene Magazine •
MAY
2019
