What is one the most recognizable businesses found in pioneer towns? The blacksmith shop, of course. It was an indispensable trade for a community that needed metal fittings of all kinds. In the late 1800s and early 1900s Castle Rock, Colorado had three blacksmith shops. Two of these faced the courthouse square, one to the north and one to the south. The Sanborn Fire Insurance maps of 1890 and 1930 show the location of these shops. Mr. Ivan Cramer purchased and moved equipment that may have been from one of these shops for use on his ranch on Liggett Road north of Castle Rock. When Mr. Cramer passed away in 1985, the blacksmith shop went to his stepson, Robert Rhodus. Mr. Rhodus gifted the equipment to Douglas County in 2010. Open Space and Natural Resources has the tools at Prairie Canyon Ranch where they will be on display and used to make ranching items. Following this page are many of the blacksmith shop artifacts used for many years in Douglas County. Research was conducted by the Douglas County History Research Center on the blacksmith shops and people who were involved with them. This exhibit is in memory of Ivan Cramer and Evelyn Cramer, lifetime Douglas County farmers; a dairyman and blacksmith.
