31st Annual Hammer In

Every year, visitors get a chance to take a step back into history at the W.A Young and Sons Foundry & Machine Shop’s Annual Hammer-In Festival along Water Street in Rices Landing. This year marked the 31st year for the event, held on April 20. The Hammer-In is a free festival, open to the public, and is a day full of blacksmith demonstrations, guided tours, auctions, and more.

For more than 30 years, the Foundry has welcomed visitors on the third Saturday of April to stop in and take a glimpse into Greene County’s early industrial history, starting up the turn-of-the-century machines and inviting area blacksmiths to hold demonstrations. The foundry sits as it did the day it closed, with tools scattered around and even that day’s newspapers still in their spots. It is the only surviving - and functional! - example of the industrial evolution from local blacksmith to mass production machining.

William A. Young opened the machine shop in 1900; in 1908, the foundry was added, and then electric added in 1928. All equipment located in the foundry dates from 1870 to 1920. An elaborate system of belts and pulleys spread throughout the shop runs 25 pieces of machinery, each independent of the 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 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 part of the business, a hardware store was opened on the second floor, and even- tually the foundry also provided auto repair. Upstairs, the hardware store is still fully intact with its stock.

The foundry closed in 1965 and sat neglected until 1985, when it was purchased by the Greene County Historical Society. Repairs were made and it was opened to the public. In 1998, the foundry was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2009, the historical society turned over the foundry to non-profit Rivers of Steel and extensive repairs were made, including a new roof and windows. Last year, the W.A. Young and Sons Foundry & Machine Shop was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Members from the Pittsburgh Area Artists Blacksmiths Association (PAABA) and the Appalachian Blacksmiths Association (ABA) demonstrated hammer-on-anvil blacksmithing processes and amid the sounds of hammers ringing on anvils, created ornamental and functional items, some of which were offered for sale. Demonstrators included Wayne Kelley, Ed Appleby, Rex Baughman, Tim Schiffbauer, Gary Shriver, Barry Hixson, and John Elder. An auction at 1pm had various blacksmithing items, photographs and handcrafted artworks available for bidding; the proceeds benefitted the Ma- 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 11am- 4pm, when the shop is open for tours with caretaker Bly Blystone. FMI or to make reservations for a Sunday tour, call 724-710-4898.