This blacksmith’s shop was the place where many of the tools used on the farm were made and it was also the center for the maintenance and repair of farm equipment. Inside the shop the forge is located in the rear northwest corner leaving plenty of space on the dirt floor for equipment brought in for repair; however Joyce Ethridge remembered that items awaiting re-pair were sometimes left outside and that there was a junk pile on the west side of the shop. The rear part of the wooden building is raised on a poured concrete foundation – this might have been a fire precaution.
A carpenter’s shop is attached to the east side of the blacksmith’s shop. For a few years this was the center of a furniture-making business started by Ira Ethridge. It was operated in partnership with Zenna Roberts, a local crafts-man, and produced various pieces of domestic furniture.
On the other side of the building is a small two-hole privy, the only one provided for workers in the complex.