Michigan's oldest continually operating blacksmith shop destroyed in fire

Rummaging through pieces of his profession, standing on the charred remains of his historic shop, John Griswold let out a sigh.

On the first of July, Iron Angel Forge in Hart, believed to be the state's oldest continually operating blacksmith shop, burned almost entirely to the ground, catching fire after a neighbor's shed went up in flames, witnesses say.

"Hasn't been a good day for a while now," Griswold said on Thursday. "I'm trying to keep a good sense of humor because these are the cards I'm dealt."

In 1884, the shop began with a 24 by 24-foot wooden structure. Over the years, it changed owners and added square footage. In 1998, Griswold became the sixth person to call it his own.

“It's immortal," Griswold said about blacksmithing. "My body is only going to last so long. I have handled pieces that are two-thousand years old."

"It's a way to bring beauty into the world. It's taking something incredibly elemental and shaping it into a beautiful form," he said.

While Griswold fashions everything from movie props to set pieces for rock and roll bands, he got his start on his mother's Weber grill, attempting to make armor for him and his D&D-playing, dice-rolling friends.

"Built a big old fire in it, put a fan above it, pushing down, and burned the entire bottom," Griswold said.

For eleven days now, he's lost his way of work. In those eleven days, though, more than $11,000 has been raised for a rebuild through a GoFundMe.

"I don't have the words to express my thanks and gratitude for folks that have helped out," Griswold said.

The hardest part for him is the loss of family history: His grandfather's tools and pencil sketches given to his wife on their anniversaries. Living through the Depression, it was all they could afford.

"When I get done and I'm in the shower washing the ash off, every time I think the same thing," Griswold said. “Is this the post that my shopmate, Nick, used to scratch his back on like a bear? Or are these my mom's ashes? I don't have those anymore, either.”

In the mid-July sun, the shop's original, 24 by 24-foot structure — though scarred — still stands among the burnt remains. Griswold will begin there.

"Make backups to your family photos, and keep them somewhere other than your house," he said. "Because they can all be gone in a day. And then you're me. Digging through what's left of your life."

If you'd like to support John Griswold and Iron Angel Forge, click here to visit their GoFundMe page.

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