I finally saw the forge at the old mill museum in Lowell and it's all wrong

They have the anvil facing the wrong way relative to the fire, which would make any real work a pain. The guy running it said it was set up for 'visitor flow' not actual forging. Has anyone else run into historical sites that get the basic setup totally backwards?

3 comments

3 Comments

reese1245d ago

Visitor flow" over accuracy is such a shame. I saw a blacksmith shop where the slack tub was on the wrong side of the anvil, making it useless. Why even bother with the display then?

rowanharris5d ago

Yeah, that's so frustrating, @reese124. I mean, if you're gonna set up a whole scene, at least make it make sense. It totally kills the vibe when you notice something that basic is wrong. Makes you wonder who set it up and if they even asked someone who knows.

terryk285d ago

Ngl, sometimes the visitor flow thing makes sense though. If the anvil blocks the main path, people can't get close to see the tools or ask questions. Rowenharris, I get the frustration, but these places have to work for crowds too. My local history farm moved the butter churn out of the corner so kids could try it, even if that's not where it was kept. It's a trade-off.