Building A Town The Hard Way

Skilled tradesmen played a crucial role in the vitality of the early Utah settlements. Their work was difficult, physically demanding, and the hours were long. Your visit to the Park won’t be complete without a stop at our blacksmith shop, stone-cutter and other craft demonstrations.

Blacksmith Brian Westover will demonstrate how the West was built with a forge, anvil and hammer. As you watch him work, listen to him recount how pioneer blacksmiths built and repaired farm equipment, tools and generally kept the settlements in good working order.

Most furniture was too heavy and bulky to be brought across the plains in pioneers’ wagons, so skilled furniture makers were in great demand in the settlements. At our Dinwoody Furniture Shop, craftsman Stephen Shepherd explains how local soft wood was used for furniture in the absence of more favored eastern hardwood trees, then painted to look like hardwood. See the remarkable collection of authentic period tools he uses in his craft.

So come watch how our history was shaped in the skilled hands of real craftsmen.