Old Blacksmith Shop/Downtown Welcome Center

Henry Root and Luther Graves built a stone blacksmith shop on South Street around 1845. Though many of the earliest buildings in Bennington were timber-framed, blacksmith shops were usually stone to avoid being set ablaze by hot embers from the forge. John S. Brant (in the center) operated the shop from 1887-1906. As suggested by the sign, most of his business was in shoeing horses. Practical and scientific were words used to describe any business that wanted to appear “modern” in the late 1800s. In 1906 he left Bennington for a career as a traveling salesman of blacksmith supplies.

In 1919, as automobiles replaced horses, the shop was converted into a garage. The Root family sold the shop to the town of Bennington in 1920. The building then housed the Bennington Girls’ Club until about 1950. It briefly served as a civil defense headquarters during World War II. It was also used as a gift shop and interior design studio before becoming the Greater Bennington Chamber of Commerce in 1960. In 1971, the Bennington Police station occupied the space before moving to its current location. Since 2003, the old stone shop has been used as the downtown visitor center for the Better Bennington Corporation.

J.S. Brant, Practical and Scientific Horseshoer, 1899-1906

Wills T. White (1874-1956)
Glass plate negative
Bennington Museum Collection, Weichert-Isselhardt Collection, Gift of Tordis llg Isselhardt and Museum Purchase