Blacksmith School at the Red Mill Museum Village offers a small-group, hands-on introduction to the craft, history and techniques of traditional blacksmithing. Designed for beginners, this two-session course combines historical context with practical skill-building in an authentic working forge.

Led by experienced blacksmith Ivan Raupp, students will learn the fundamentals of working with iron, including how to build and manage a coal fire, identify forging temperatures by color and safely use essential tools such as the anvil, hammer and tongs. Instruction focuses on the four foundational blacksmithing techniques—drawing out, upsetting, bending and twisting—which form the basis of most forged objects. Participants will also explore the historical role of blacksmiths and the production and properties of iron in early America. Each student will make a hook of their own design to take home.