On this #TBT, we highlight the historic Big Horn Blacksmith Shop. The information comes from a sign created by the Sheridan County Historic Preservation Commission and placed near the intersection of Johnson and Creighton Streets.
Big Horn grew up as one of the main communities along the stage route in Sheridan County. The first Big Horn Post Office was established in 1879 at Thomas Creighton’s ranch two miles northeast of Big Horn. In 1881, Creighton sold his ranch, and the post office was moved to Big Horn. That same year John DeWitt built a blacksmith shop at this site, where the 1867 military cutoff of the Bozeman Trail crossed Little Goose Creek.
This shop was typical of the blacksmith shops found in small rural towns along the wagon roads in the region’s early settlement period. It was an important business in the community, providing horseshoeing, wagon repairing, and general blacksmithing. In the 1880s advertisements for the shop appeared in the Big Horn Sentinel featuring notices such as “Blacksmithing and Wagon Repairing Done on Short Notice.” Two other owners operated the shop after DeWitt sold it in 1885. This building served Big Horn and the surrounding area until 1914. It was restored in 1936 and now houses the Big Horn Museum.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, 2015
