The blacksmith is one of the most important figures in the village, being a jack-of-all-trades, capable of making or repairing any object. The blacksmith is so indispensable that there are very few villages that can’t count on at least one of these iron craftsmen. For example, in the Memramcook region around 1865, there were five blacksmith stores.

As for the store, it’s not the prettiest building in the village. Indeed, it often has the appearance of a neglected shed. Forges don’t necessarily have signs, but you can identify them by looking and listening, as the sound of clashing metal often carries through the walls. Inside, where anarchic disorder reigns, the store resembles a warehouse.
The blacksmith’s economy fluctuates around a seasonal circle. In spring, the farmer’s harrow and plow need to be repaired. At harvest time, farmers repair tools broken during the harvest. In autumn, the blacksmith repairs butchering tools such as knives and scrapers. In winter, he repairs sledges and carts. Throughout the year, the blacksmith also shoes horses and sometimes oxen.

As for the work of Sylvain Léger, whose store is now located in the Village historique acadien, he was recognized as a master in the art of “beating an axe”. He employed a special solution and technique all his own.

The Village historique acadien purchased the former Sylvain Léger Forge in 1976 and restored it to its former glory. The forge represents a typical forge in rural southeastern New Brunswick in the mid-1860s.

• Wide double doors
• Exterior staircase to attic
• Vertical board siding
• Clay floor
• Carved stone hearth with two working lights