It was said that historical figures Daniel Boone and George Washington had their horses shod at this blacksmith shop near the northeast corner of State Road and Sumneytown Pike. Was it true? What evidence can I find about this?
What Do We Know?
Thanks to the Ambler Gazette that details the local histories of the Wissahickon Valley Region, there was a brief detail about who the first blacksmith was as remembered by the older residents at the time. His name was Jonathan Taylor, with John Preston who served as his apprentice along with his brother Edward.
Another name was mentioned of another blacksmith named William Swenk/Schwenk who sold a small plantation in Gwynedd on April 29, 1769 to his brothers George (a blacksmith) and Nicholas Schwenk. George was one of the soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War.
The Gazette claimed the blacksmith shop was built 50 years before the Revolutionary War.
The Land It Occupied
The blacksmith shop stood on the property of the Acuff family since the early 19th century. Originally the land was owned by Cadwalader Evans (1664-1745), one of the four brothers who arrived in Gwynedd in 1698. But most of the transfers was from his brother Robert Evans (1658-1738). Over time, the land was then transferred within Robert Evans' family: his son Hugh Evans (1685-1734), and then to his son Jesse Evans. In 1755, Jesse sold 65 acres to George Maris who would later build his home where the William Penn Inn is currently located. He lived on the property from 1755 to 1803.
George Maris had 104 acres of land. Unfortunately after his death, members of his father couldn't hold onto his land. In 1818 his nephew Jesse Maris sold the land to David Acuff (1785-1861) for $10,000. As an experienced inn keeper back at Spring House, David found an opportunity to run a hotel at the former Maris property. He didn't receive a license to run a hotel until 1827. During his occupation, he had 133 acres that included the east, west, and south corners from the William Penn Inn.
At the time of his death, David mentioned the names of his children in his will who would take possession of his land. One of the children who took possession of the lands across from the William Penn Inn was Jacob B. Acuff (1817-1898).
The Last Known Blacksmith
Harry Snyder Lowery (1837-1911) was born on October 9 to Job and Susan Lowery in the Franklinville village. He attended school until he dropped out at the age of 16. He was employed at the farm for George H. Danehower (1815-1899) of Gwynedd, and worked there for two years. He then went on to be an apprentice in the blacksmith trade in the Bustleton section of Philadelphia. He was an apprentice to Francis C. Michener for 3 1/2 years since 1853/4.
Fun Fact #1 : His father Job was a solider in the War of 1812.
He returned to Gwynedd at age 22 after completing his apprenticeship, and was employed by Allen Danehower who worked at the old blacksmith shop since 1858. In 1860, he established himself as a blacksmith and horse shoer at the old blacksmith shop on the State Road that stood on the Acuff property. He worked as a blacksmith for nearly half a century until he retired in 1909.
Fun Fact #2 : During his long tenure, he made 115,500 horse shoes, beating the record of 6,071 horse shoes.
Bibliography
"46 Years At The Forge." Ambler Gazette. June 30, 1904. Page 2. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_2396.
Dotterer, Henry Sassaman. The Dotterer Family. (Philadelphia: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 1903): 95.
"Gwynedd's Blacksmith." Ambler Gazette. July 16, 1908. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_4851.
"HARRY S. LOWERY." Ambler Gazette. April 6, 1911. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_7195.
Herman, Andrew Mark. Eastern Montgomery County Revisited. (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2005): 81.
Morris, William E, and Smith & Wistar. Map of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: from original surveys. [Philadelphia: Smith & Wistar, 1849] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012590207/.
Mueller, A. H. Atlas of the North Penn Section of Montgomery County, Pa., Plate 29, 1916.
National Harness Review 59, n. 1 (1908): 48.
Roberts, Ellwood. Biographical Annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Containing Genealogical Records of Representative Families, Including Many of the Early Settlers and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens, Volume 1. (New York: T. S. Benham, 1904): 531-532.
Scott, J. D. Montgomery County 1877, Gwynedd, North Wales, Ambler, Royer's Ford, Limerick Station, 1877.
Strassburger, Ralph Beaver. The Strassburger family and allied families of Pennsylvania; being the ancestry of Jacob Andrew Strassburger, esquire, of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. (Gwynedd Valley: Dalcassian Publishing Company, 1922): 281-314.
The Crow Bar 18, n. 2 (1909): 5.
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