Up the Gatineau! Article
This article was first published in Up the Gatineau! Volume 17.
The Leppard Blacksmith Shop at Old Chelsea
Nancy Benedict
The history of Old Chelsea. Quebec, would not be complete without mentioning the first blacksmith shop there, the Leppard Blacksmith Shop. It was founded by Philip Leppard in the mid 1880s on range 5, lot 14c in Wright County on the brow of a hill on the Old Chelsea Road, just east of the Kingsmere Road.
Philip was born in Brighton, England, on June 23, 1832. He received his early education there, and also apprenticed as a blacksmith. Being young and ambitious, he emigrated to Lower Canada, and seemingly never returned to his native land.
Upon arriving in Old Chelsea, he quickly realized the need for a blacksmith shop there, especially for the farmers, lumbermen and miners, along with the numerous folk who kept horses and ponies for pleasure, so they could bring their horses to be shod.
His four-acre property was located on the south side of the Old Chelsea Road. Close to each corner, at the road, was planted a white maple tree. There was a huge rock on the east side of the property, quite likely left there by glaciers hundreds of years before, in fact so large that the line fence went up over the top of it. There were two lovely springs, one close to the house, in which he cooled the milk. The latter was close to the stable and used as a duck pond. He also had an apple orchard, mainly snows but also one Dutch apple tree and some seedlings.
His two-storey, eight-room frame house, with a solid stone foundation, faced the north and also the road, with a woodshed at the south end. Between the house and the white picket fence along the roadside, a distance of ten feet, was a solid mass of flower gardens. Philip's hobby was attending to his luxuriant flower and vegetable gardens. He was especially noted for the excellent celery he grew. The log stable was situated at the back of the property: in it he kept a few cows of different breeds over the years, a couple of hogs and a number of hens, all of which helped to supply their needs in meat, milk, butter, eggs, and an occasional Sunday stew. Of course, he also had a collie dog.
The large frame 20- by 36-foot blacksmith shop he founded behind the house, beside a row of Manitoba maples; it was built with square-type nails and roofed with hand-made wooden shingles. On the north side was a double set of doors. There was a 4- by 6-foot window on the west side, while on the east side was a 2-foot square window. It was heated by two box stoves and lighted by coal oil lanterns. Clients noted with interest the layout of the interior of the blacksmith shop. It could accommodate two teams of horses awaiting their turn to be shod, yet had ample room for a 6-foot square fire-place, extra-large 4-by 7-foot bellows with a 6—foot long wooden handle, the largest sized anvil available, along with numerous and various smaller pieces of tools and equipment. His trestle was made from a sturdy tree trunk that had four substantial limbs close together. It was turned upside-down with the four feet on the floor, the trunk end used to put the horse's front foot on for to finish shoeing. If the horse was a quiet animal, the hind feet could be finished likewise: otherwise he would have to finish the hind feet on his knees.
Hanging on the walls were several layers of numerous sizes of horseshoes, all made up. They just needed to be fitted and caulked to suit each horse. He shod mostly heavy and light work draft horses. buggy and express horses, also a few ponies, race horses and oxen the year around.
In the mid 1880s he put on a set of eight shoes, up to size 6, for $2.40. He would also remove a shoe, reset, trim the hoof, and put the shoes back on for 15 cents per hoof. No doubt these prices were a pittance in comparison to today's prices.
Not only did he shoe horses; he was also very good at sharpening steel, and repaired broken chains and other equipment requiring the use of bellows and anvil. In fact, he could do almost anything with iron or steel. Along with the aforementioned he did some woodwork such as repairing wagons and sleighs. Therefore he was kept busy the year around, so the shop was always a beehive of activity; he served the people of West Hull, Kingsmere, Meech Lake, Old Chelsea and beyond (as there was no tollgate on this road).
With the lumbering business booming, farming was prosperous and there was shipping of some minerals. The blowing of the bellows, the sounding of the hot iron, and the tapping of his hammer on the ringing anvil were heard throughout the Old Chelsea village from early morn till long into the night. Business at the blacksmith shop prospered and Philip very quickly became quite famous far and wide for his excellent workmanship in every phase of the trade; in fact, his shop attracted people to Old Chelsea. The shop itself helped add to the community's togetherness, as here local news was accumulated and dispensed freely.
Philip Leppard married while still in his prime of life, to a lass from Old Chelsea, whose maiden name was Mary Ann Bradley, born July 8, 1834. This brought together some of the pioneer families of the valley. This young couple were blessed with a family of twelve; William H., Ellen (Mrs. Joseph Dence). Philip Jr., George E., Sophia, George H., Annie (Mrs. Walter Benedict), William A., Emma and Ida (twins who became Mrs. Charlie Fleury and Mrs. John McCord. respectively). Alfred, and Hartley.
Sunday was a day of rest in the Leppard household. They were eminent Christians; they and their family attended Chelsea Methodist Church on Sundays, while Philip Sr. served on the official Church Board and Mary was a Sunday School teacher for many a year, it is a known fact that he refused to work in the shop on Sundays or religious holidays, unless it was to shoe a horse for a Doctor.
Due to failing health, Philip Sr. regrettably had to retire around 1903. He must have looked back on his life's work with satisfaction as he was truly a devoted blacksmith and a friend to one and all. He passed away very suddenly on Easter Sunday morn, at his Old Chelsea residence. April 11, 1909, aged 76 years. He was laid to rest in the Old Chelsea Protestant Cemetery, being just a few feet west of his property. Mary Leppard passed on several years later, and was also buried beside her husband.
After Philip Sr. passed away, the property reverted to their son. Hartley, bom December 3, 1882. He had lived at home all the while. but had worked at the mica mine. Although he kept the blacksmith shop open for twenty years, he did not actually pretend to be a blacksmith, although he had learned his father's trade. He also was very good at all types of iron and steel work. He married Miss Allison Lang of Old Chelsea, and they had a family of four.
Hartley kept a horse most of his life; he had purchased several general-purpose colts at one time or another, but his last horse, “Jack”, was a Clyde draft horse, brown with a white face and two white feet. He still had this horse when he passed away very suddenly at the early age of 43 years, on June 6, 1925. Hartley was also laid to rest in the Old Chelsea Protestant Cemetery. Now, people had to go elsewhere to have any blacksmith work done.
On visiting Old Chelsea today, you would not see this fine old landmark that was familiar a few decades ago, and which served the community for close to a century. It is now merely a memory in the minds of the older citizens. but the life of this village revolved around the blacksmith shop in its day.
Nancy Benedict wrote this article in I985, about her husband Clayton’s grandfather, Philip Leppard.