ABOUT FORT NEW SALEM AND PRICKETT'S FORT:
These Forts, located in north-central WV, are restorations of early colonial settlements. Fort New Salem is operated by Fort New Salem Foundation, Inc. (Salem, WV), and Prickett's Fort is operated as a WV State Park. (Fairmont, WV)

Both facilities utilize log structures from the original western Allegheny settlements that bore their names. The ABA has held hammer-ins at each of the Forts to refurbish the hardware, cooking equipment, and cutlery/utensils that are in day-to-day use. Public tours are available and each facility hosts a number of planned events through the year.  Interpreters are onsite to relate the lifestyles of frontier people during the post-Revolutionary War era.

Prickett's Fort

ABOUT JACKSON'S MILL:
Jackson's Mill State 4-H Conference Center is operated by West Virginia University's Extension Service.  The restored gristmill and historical district represent a view of life when Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson lived here as a boy. The park is easily accessed from I-79 at Weston (Exit 99) or Jane Lew (Exit 106). Follow signs to US 19 and follow the park signs from there. The ABA holds it's annual business meeting here as well as hammer-in's.  For information, call 1-800-287-8206.  The Stonewall Jackson Arts & Craft Jubilee is held here during Labor Day weekend.

Blaker gristmill at Jackson's Mill park

ABOUT POINT PLEASANT:
Today, historic Fort Randolph commemorates one of the early battles of the American Revolution.  Located at the junction of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, Fort Randolph was on the Appalachian frontier when it was built in 1776.  The Shawnee Chief, Cornstalk, and Col. Andrew Lewis of the Virginia Militia, each commanding a force of over 1,000 men, fought a bloody battle on this site in October, 1774.  Though not generally well known, the battle played a very important role in the outcome between the French and English for control of the central part of the country.  

ABOUT RICE'S LANDING:
W. A. Young and Sons Foundry & Machine Shop began business here in 1900 to service steamboats plying the Monongahela River. Many of the shop's original mould patterns are on display and nearly all the original machine tools are intact. Even the Ford Model T engine that runs the belt drive system is in perfect shape. The foundry is being preserved and has been catalogued by the Smithsonian. Each year, the ABA and Pittsburgh Area A-B chapter join together for a fundraising hammer-in and auction. Rice's Landing is a short drive from Waynesburg, PA via Route 188 through the town of Dry Tavern.

Camforge, Inc. Plant Tour:
The ABA was fortunate to be able to tour the Camforge plant at Cameron, WV in March 2004.  The company forges crane hooks and heat-treats steel products.  Click here to see photos of our tour.

ABOUT TAMARACK:
Tamarack is a new arts and craft center located at Beckley, WV at the junction of I-64 and I-77. Several ABA members are juried in at Tamarack and also perform public demonstrations. You'll want to stop, visit, and shop for some of the finest handmade goods available anywhere. Click here to see Tamarack

ABOUT WHEELING AND WEIRTON:
Wheeling, WV, located on I-70 is home to country music and the Capitol City Music Hall.  The Wheeling Suspension Bridge is here, one of the very first cable suspension bridges and a forerunner of the Brooklyn Bridge. But if you're a blacksmith, contact  Warwood Tool Company and LaBelle Nail Works about group tours.

Weirton, just north of Wheeling, is home to Weirton Steel. The ABA did their first group tour of the plant's blacksmith shop in 1992 and, since then, other blacksmith groups have toured the plant and shop. Watch a 300# power hammer in action or feel the heat of the blast furnace.

(The mentioned plant tours are not open to the public. All plant tours by special arrangement of the companies only.)

Wheeling Suspension Bridge  Photo by Alan Behr for National Park Service