Learn about blacksmithing Oct. 7 at Garfield Farm Museum

On Saturday, Oct. 7, museum staff member Joseph Coleman will give a Blacksmithing 101 lecture/demonstration at 10 a.m. on the history of blacksmithing. There will be a discussion of how we arrived at the Iron Age and how blacksmithing impacted the industrial revolution. To conclude, Joseph also will demonstrate 19th-century blacksmithing skills.

Blacksmithing 202 will include a lecture, demonstration and hands-on experience for the guests (no prior experience needed).

Iron has been used by numerous civilizations over the course of thousands of years. It played a pivotal role during the industrial revolution. Iron also had many practical applications on prairie farmsteads like Garfield Farm.

Coleman has been in the history museum field since 2005. He has demonstrated 19th century blacksmithing in Naperville for 5 years and during his hobby of Civil War reenacting. Joseph took an interest in blacksmithing during Garfield Farm's 1840's Days on how it could be applied to farm life.

The cost of Blacksmithing 101 is $8, Blacksmithing 202 is $40 (materials included) and refreshments are included. For reservations, contact the museum at (630) 584-8485 or info@garfieldfarm.org.

Garfield Farm Museum is located on Garfield Road, off Route 38, 5 miles west of Geneva. The 374-acre site is a historically intact former 1840s farm and teamster inn being restored as an 1840s working farm museum by volunteers and donors from around the country.