Blacksmith shop at Sutter’s Fort to be restored

By Emily King / Sacramento Bee

The first time Sutter’s Fort was restored, in the 1890s, the blacksmith shop was one of the first exhibit rooms to receive attention.

Blacksmithing was a critical profession on the frontier, necessary to transform raw materials into essential items such as nails, locks, hinges, latches, horseshoes, wheels and materials for weapons.

“John Sutter prided himself on having a blacksmith at Sutter’s Fort,” said Matthew Bellah, superintendent for the California State Parks Capitol District.

Ever since that first restoration, the blacksmith shop has been a popular destination for schoolchildren and other visitors who come to learn the history of the fort, which was built by Swiss immigrant John Sutter on a land grant from the government of Mexico, of which California was part at the time. Docents interact with visitors and perform blacksmith work as it would have been practiced in the 1840s, when John Sutter’s fort, which he called New Helvetia, was bustling as a destination for pioneers.

Now the blacksmith shop will be overhauled once again as part of an ongoing renovation that began with the fort’s roof in 2013. It is the fort’s largest renovation since that first one in the 1890s. More than $1 million has been spent on such items as the exterior walls, seismic stabilization, drainage, pathways, gates and exterior lighting for the complex at 27th and L streets.

“More projects are lined up as part of the restoration effort,” Bellah said. “The end goal is preservation.”

The money funding the park’s various restoration projects comes from a combination of public funds and private donations with the support of California State Parks, Friends of Sutter’s Fort and private donors, according to the Sutter’s Fort website.

The $26,000 for the blacksmith shop overhaul will be paid by the Sacramento Pioneer Association, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Sacramento’s history. The effort will start in August and be completed by fall……Read More

Photo Credit: Della Huff