Blacksmith and Livery in 1880 Town

In some of the smaller western towns, the blacksmith and livery might be combined, but in 1880 Town, they were separate buildings. Of course, the blacksmith worked with forging metals, including horseshoes, tools, household utensils, nails, etc. He was a necessary part of the community.

In my novel, A Match for Silas, Silas Barrett is the blacksmith in Pinyon Falls, Texas. In a moment of desperation, he sends for a mail-order bride, but he specifies that she be from a poor, common family. He doesn't want to marry a woman who couldn't be satisfied with a blacksmith the way his mother was. Who does the matchmaker send? A lady from high society.

A Match for Silas

The livery mainly boarded or rented out horses as well as wagons, buggies, and other conveyances. His building was usually larger than that of the blacksmith because both the horses and the vehicles took up more space than the forge. Sometimes a livery might have the horses stabled in a separate place from the wagons.

In Carmen's Wedding Dilemma, Holden Judd owns a livery in a small Utah town. He goes to buy some new horses from a local rancher and finds some magnificent horses with Spanish bloodlines. He also finds a beautiful daughter that draws his attention, but he knows his prejudiced mother will never accept her Spanish heritage.

Carmen's Wedding Dilemma

*1880 Town is in Midland, South Dakota

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