RE-CREATING A LANDMARK SCV BLACKSMITH SHOP TO BE REBUILT.

Byline: Sharon Cotal Staff Writer

A century ago, the ancestors of Tom Frew IV rolled into town in their covered wagon on their way from the Antelope Valley to Long Beach. Fortunately for the people of Newhall, they never made it.

After learning that the town needed a blacksmith, the family - Frew's grandparents and their three children - decided to stay and borrow the money to purchase the smithy, which remained a Santa Clarita landmark until it closed in 1970.

Now the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society would like to re-create that original shop at the park at Heritage Junction in Newhall. A Blacksmith Shop Committee has been formed and a campaign begun to raise the $8,800 needed to pay for the engineering for the project.

While the idea came from committee chairman Don Woelke, Frew is also serving on the committee and said he is honored that the society wants to rebuild the family shop.

``We had hoped to complete it this year, because it was the 100th anniversary of the family coming to town, but it didn't work out that way,'' Frew said. But he adding that once the engineering package is completed and approved by the county, volunteers are ready to build the shop quickly - ``like a barn raising.''

Floor plans developed by the committee are based on the original, but will also incorporate other historical trades like carpentry and coopering.

``We're taking these arts that are no longer practiced and showing them in action,'' Frew said.

Frew plans to donate pieces from the original family shop to the site when it is completed, including branding irons, handmade blacksmith tongs and an anvil.

Some local businesses have already contributed to the project, but the society still needs funding for the engineering package to get the project moving. Individuals or businesses who would like to contribute money, materials or labor toward the building of the blacksmith shop should call Woelke at [phone].

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The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society is raising money to recreate Newhall's original blacksmith's shop at Herritage Junction shown in this print.