JARED B. BAKER BLACKSMITH SHOP
One of the last blacksmith shops in this area, it use to sit at the junction of Plymouth and Circuit Streets at the corner of Pine Street. Known as the J. B. Baker Shop, it was originally known as the John Watson Shop, founded in 1878. Jared Baker came to the shop in 1894 as a young man and here he stayed in a business that would last until his death in 1946.
Jared Baker was born in Nova Scotia. When a young man, about 18, he moved to his sister's in North Reading, Massachusetts. For a awhile he worked at the Mac Lane Wagon Manufacturing Company in North Reading, later he worked for them in Peabody.
Soon after, in answer to an advertisement, he moved to East Bridgewater, Massachusetts to work as a blacksmith for William Sturtevant. Following his marriage to Mr. Sturtevant's niece, Ella F. Sturtevant, in 1894, he took up residence in Halifax. Here they raised their family and lived the remainder of their lives.
After working at the blacksmith shop 21 years, he bought it in 1915 and an addition was built on the East Side of the old building to include automobile repair work. Mr. Baker was the first to offer a filling station and garage in Halifax. For a short time a store was in the J. B. Baker Farmer's Garage. The family probably ran this.
One of the relics still in the shop is an ox frame used for shoeing oxen. The house and blacksmith shop were in the Baker Family for over years. The Town of Halifax was given the opportunity to purchase the Blacksmith Shop from the Baker family in and the building was moved to its present site. After some renovations the artifacts were carefully replace by the Halifax Boy Scouts of Troop 49 to the exact areas that Mr. Baker had left them.
His son, Guy S. Baker, wrote one of my favorite written pieces about Jared Bake:
"Father had a beautiful physique for a man. Not tall, as he had rather short legs, but a torso that was always my envy. No doubt his occupation lent to the development of his back and arm structure. He was a specimen to admire in this respect." Blacksmith and wheelwright. His shop was the only and complete fix it shop for everyone at that time until the mechanical era became more marked and then we got the bicycle shop first, next the garage. There were no specialist in the rural areas so plumbing, heating, lighting and such services were added in times of need by the blacksmith.
In the 1922 State Directory his business was listed as Blacksmith-Auto. Garage
Operator-Wheelwright. There was only one Blacksmith-Wheelwright listed.
Guy S. Baker wrote in his "History of Halifax, page 119:
"In those days, when horse set the pace, much of the settling of the world's problems took place in the village blacksmith's shop. One sometimes thinks that people are too busy to be neighborly these days, but not so in years past. The Blacksmith shops provided a common meeting place for the menfolk. Situated at the crossroads, and unavoidable (for it was the only place nearby for service to a man and his beast), princes and paupers, generals and politicians, governors and, in one case, a future president, stopped to visit with my father. National, state, county, municipal or town officials would pass through at various times and stop at the shop. James Curley, or "Jim" as he liked to be called, Mayor of Boston, and later
Governor of Massachusetts, chose to say hello to father whenever he passed this way."
When Mr. Baker past away his family closed the doors to the shop and never did anything with it. It's as if he has stepped out to walk across the street to have lunch with his family, as he did when it was in the old location. Over the years his sons used the garage section for storage but they left their father's work area as he had left it.
Over the years, in addition to his blacksmithing, Mr. Baker was very active in town
affairs. He served as the town's first Chief of the Fire Department when it was organized on August 24, 1909, was a Selectman from 1920 through 1946, was a Deacon of the Halifax Congregational Church, a charter member of the Halifax Grange, on the Board of Health, an Overseer of the Poor, on the 1931 Bicentennial Committee, Park Commission 1943-1944 and in 1922 was on the Jury Ration Board. His wife, Ella F. Baker, served as the first woman on the Halifax School Committee from 1911 to 1914.
One of the last blacksmith shops in this area, it use to sit at the junction of Plymouth and Circuit Streets at the corner of Pine Street. Known as the J. B. Baker Shop, it was originally known as the John Watson Shop, founded in 1878. Jared Baker came to the shop in 1894 as a young man and here he stayed in a business that would last until his death in 1946.
Jared Baker was born in Nova Scotia. When a young man, about 18, he moved to his sister's in North Reading, Massachusetts. For a awhile he worked at the Mac Lane Wagon Manufacturing Company in North Reading, later he worked for them in Peabody.
Soon after, in answer to an advertisement, he moved to East Bridgewater, Massachusetts to work as a blacksmith for William Sturtevant. Following his marriage to Mr. Sturtevant's niece, Ella F. Sturtevant, in 1894, he took up residence in Halifax. Here they raised their family and lived the remainder of their lives.
After working at the blacksmith shop 21 years, he bought it in 1915 and an addition was built on the East Side of the old building to include automobile repair work. Mr. Baker was the first to offer a filling station and garage in Halifax. For a short time a store was in the J. B. Baker Farmer's Garage. The family probably ran this.
One of the relics still in the shop is an ox frame used for shoeing oxen. The house and blacksmith shop were in the Baker Family for over years. The Town of Halifax was given the opportunity to purchase the Blacksmith Shop from the Baker family in and the building was moved to its present site. After some renovations the artifacts were carefully replace by the Halifax Boy Scouts of Troop 49 to the exact areas that Mr. Baker had left them.
His son, Guy S. Baker, wrote one of my favorite written pieces about Jared Bake:
"Father had a beautiful physique for a man. Not tall, as he had rather short legs, but a torso that was always my envy. No doubt his occupation lent to the development of his back and arm structure. He was a specimen to admire in this respect." Blacksmith and wheelwright. His shop was the only and complete fix it shop for everyone at that time until the mechanical era became more marked and then we got the bicycle shop first, next the garage. There were no specialist in the rural areas so plumbing, heating, lighting and such services were added in times of need by the blacksmith.
In the 1922 State Directory his business was listed as Blacksmith-Auto. Garage
Operator-Wheelwright. There was only one Blacksmith-Wheelwright listed.
Guy S. Baker wrote in his "History of Halifax, page 119:
"In those days, when horse set the pace, much of the settling of the world's problems took place in the village blacksmith's shop. One sometimes thinks that people are too busy to be neighborly these days, but not so in years past. The Blacksmith shops provided a common meeting place for the menfolk. Situated at the crossroads, and unavoidable (for it was the only place nearby for service to a man and his beast), princes and paupers, generals and politicians, governors and, in one case, a future president, stopped to visit with my father. National, state, county, municipal or town officials would pass through at various times and stop at the shop. James Curley, or "Jim" as he liked to be called, Mayor of Boston, and later
Governor of Massachusetts, chose to say hello to father whenever he passed this way."
When Mr. Baker past away his family closed the doors to the shop and never did anything with it. It's as if he has stepped out to walk across the street to have lunch with his family, as he did when it was in the old location. Over the years his sons used the garage section for storage but they left their father's work area as he had left it.
Over the years, in addition to his blacksmithing, Mr. Baker was very active in town
affairs. He served as the town's first Chief of the Fire Department when it was organized on August 24, 1909, was a Selectman from 1920 through 1946, was a Deacon of the Halifax Congregational Church, a charter member of the Halifax Grange, on the Board of Health, an Overseer of the Poor, on the 1931 Bicentennial Committee, Park Commission 1943-1944 and in 1922 was on the Jury Ration Board. His wife, Ella F. Baker, served as the first woman on the Halifax School Committee from 1911 to 1914.
JARED B. BAKER BLACKSMITH SHOP
One of the last blacksmith shops in this area, it use to sit at the junction of Plymouth and Circuit Streets at the corner of Pine Street. Known as the J. B. Baker Shop, it was originally known as the John Watson Shop, founded in 1878. Jared Baker came to the shop in 1894 as a young man and here he stayed in a business that would last until his death in 1946.
Jared Baker was born in Nova Scotia. When a young man, about 18, he moved to his sister's in North Reading, Massachusetts. For a awhile he worked at the Mac Lane Wagon Manufacturing Company in North Reading, later he worked for them in Peabody.
Soon after, in answer to an advertisement, he moved to East Bridgewater, Massachusetts to work as a blacksmith for William Sturtevant. Following his marriage to Mr. Sturtevant's niece, Ella F. Sturtevant, in 1894, he took up residence in Halifax. Here they raised their family and lived the remainder of their lives.
After working at the blacksmith shop 21 years, he bought it in 1915 and an addition was built on the East Side of the old building to include automobile repair work. Mr. Baker was the first to offer a filling station and garage in Halifax. For a short time a store was in the J. B. Baker Farmer's Garage. The family probably ran this.
One of the relics still in the shop is an ox frame used for shoeing oxen. The house and blacksmith shop were in the Baker Family for over years. The Town of Halifax was given the opportunity to purchase the Blacksmith Shop from the Baker family in and the building was moved to its present site. After some renovations the artifacts were carefully replace by the Halifax Boy Scouts of Troop 49 to the exact areas that Mr. Baker had left them.
His son, Guy S. Baker, wrote one of my favorite written pieces about Jared Bake:
"Father had a beautiful physique for a man. Not tall, as he had rather short legs, but a torso that was always my envy. No doubt his occupation lent to the development of his back and arm structure. He was a specimen to admire in this respect." Blacksmith and wheelwright. His shop was the only and complete fix it shop for everyone at that time until the mechanical era became more marked and then we got the bicycle shop first, next the garage. There were no specialist in the rural areas so plumbing, heating, lighting and such services were added in times of need by the blacksmith.
In the 1922 State Directory his business was listed as Blacksmith-Auto. Garage
Operator-Wheelwright. There was only one Blacksmith-Wheelwright listed.
Guy S. Baker wrote in his "History of Halifax, page 119:
"In those days, when horse set the pace, much of the settling of the world's problems took place in the village blacksmith's shop. One sometimes thinks that people are too busy to be neighborly these days, but not so in years past. The Blacksmith shops provided a common meeting place for the menfolk. Situated at the crossroads, and unavoidable (for it was the only place nearby for service to a man and his beast), princes and paupers, generals and politicians, governors and, in one case, a future president, stopped to visit with my father. National, state, county, municipal or town officials would pass through at various times and stop at the shop. James Curley, or "Jim" as he liked to be called, Mayor of Boston, and later
Governor of Massachusetts, chose to say hello to father whenever he passed this way."
When Mr. Baker past away his family closed the doors to the shop and never did anything with it. It's as if he has stepped out to walk across the street to have lunch with his family, as he did when it was in the old location. Over the years his sons used the garage section for storage but they left their father's work area as he had left it.
Over the years, in addition to his blacksmithing, Mr. Baker was very active in town
affairs. He served as the town's first Chief of the Fire Department when it was organized on August 24, 1909, was a Selectman from 1920 through 1946, was a Deacon of the Halifax Congregational Church, a charter member of the Halifax Grange, on the Board of Health, an Overseer of the Poor, on the 1931 Bicentennial Committee, Park Commission 1943-1944 and in 1922 was on the Jury Ration Board. His wife, Ella F. Baker, served as the first woman on the Halifax School Committee from 1911 to 1914.
One of the last blacksmith shops in this area, it use to sit at the junction of Plymouth and Circuit Streets at the corner of Pine Street. Known as the J. B. Baker Shop, it was originally known as the John Watson Shop, founded in 1878. Jared Baker came to the shop in 1894 as a young man and here he stayed in a business that would last until his death in 1946.
Jared Baker was born in Nova Scotia. When a young man, about 18, he moved to his sister's in North Reading, Massachusetts. For a awhile he worked at the Mac Lane Wagon Manufacturing Company in North Reading, later he worked for them in Peabody.
Soon after, in answer to an advertisement, he moved to East Bridgewater, Massachusetts to work as a blacksmith for William Sturtevant. Following his marriage to Mr. Sturtevant's niece, Ella F. Sturtevant, in 1894, he took up residence in Halifax. Here they raised their family and lived the remainder of their lives.
After working at the blacksmith shop 21 years, he bought it in 1915 and an addition was built on the East Side of the old building to include automobile repair work. Mr. Baker was the first to offer a filling station and garage in Halifax. For a short time a store was in the J. B. Baker Farmer's Garage. The family probably ran this.
One of the relics still in the shop is an ox frame used for shoeing oxen. The house and blacksmith shop were in the Baker Family for over years. The Town of Halifax was given the opportunity to purchase the Blacksmith Shop from the Baker family in and the building was moved to its present site. After some renovations the artifacts were carefully replace by the Halifax Boy Scouts of Troop 49 to the exact areas that Mr. Baker had left them.
His son, Guy S. Baker, wrote one of my favorite written pieces about Jared Bake:
"Father had a beautiful physique for a man. Not tall, as he had rather short legs, but a torso that was always my envy. No doubt his occupation lent to the development of his back and arm structure. He was a specimen to admire in this respect." Blacksmith and wheelwright. His shop was the only and complete fix it shop for everyone at that time until the mechanical era became more marked and then we got the bicycle shop first, next the garage. There were no specialist in the rural areas so plumbing, heating, lighting and such services were added in times of need by the blacksmith.
In the 1922 State Directory his business was listed as Blacksmith-Auto. Garage
Operator-Wheelwright. There was only one Blacksmith-Wheelwright listed.
Guy S. Baker wrote in his "History of Halifax, page 119:
"In those days, when horse set the pace, much of the settling of the world's problems took place in the village blacksmith's shop. One sometimes thinks that people are too busy to be neighborly these days, but not so in years past. The Blacksmith shops provided a common meeting place for the menfolk. Situated at the crossroads, and unavoidable (for it was the only place nearby for service to a man and his beast), princes and paupers, generals and politicians, governors and, in one case, a future president, stopped to visit with my father. National, state, county, municipal or town officials would pass through at various times and stop at the shop. James Curley, or "Jim" as he liked to be called, Mayor of Boston, and later
Governor of Massachusetts, chose to say hello to father whenever he passed this way."
When Mr. Baker past away his family closed the doors to the shop and never did anything with it. It's as if he has stepped out to walk across the street to have lunch with his family, as he did when it was in the old location. Over the years his sons used the garage section for storage but they left their father's work area as he had left it.
Over the years, in addition to his blacksmithing, Mr. Baker was very active in town
affairs. He served as the town's first Chief of the Fire Department when it was organized on August 24, 1909, was a Selectman from 1920 through 1946, was a Deacon of the Halifax Congregational Church, a charter member of the Halifax Grange, on the Board of Health, an Overseer of the Poor, on the 1931 Bicentennial Committee, Park Commission 1943-1944 and in 1922 was on the Jury Ration Board. His wife, Ella F. Baker, served as the first woman on the Halifax School Committee from 1911 to 1914.
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