Quasdorf Blacksmith and Wagon Museum
Why might blacksmiths have played an important role to a town in the past?
Blacksmiths made and repaired tools. The Quasdorf Blacksmith and Wagon Museum gives an authentic feel of what a blacksmith's shop was like.
Transcript
[Abby Brown]
Check out all these cool tools and this awesome equipment. What could this place be? In the small town of Dows the Quasdorf Blacksmith and Wagon Museum helps us to visualize what a real blacksmith shop would have looked like when it was an important part of getting work done in this community. The age-old art of blacksmithing dates back thousands of years and involves using heavy tools and fire to melt, shape, and weld metal. Frank Quasdorf was the local blacksmith here and many of the tools equipment and other blacksmithing items on display were his. Things like the forge, anvils, and vices. Some of the tools blacksmiths created were iron and steel tools. They were really high quality so they were worth fixing instead of replacing. Blacksmiths also worked on horseshoes and wagon wheels. Some of the wheels are exhibited here. Museums like this remind us that a blacksmith was important, the go-to creator and fixer of tools and equipment. Every county in Iowa has an iron-clad story to tell. It's been an eye-opening experience exploring Wright County.
