Matthew Edel, born in 1856 in Stuttgart, Germany, immigrated to the US in the late 1860s with his parents and siblings. Initially settling in central Illinois, they moved to eastern Iowa where Matthew met and married Mary Hofman in 1883. They had 8 children. Matthew bought the property in Haverhill, IA for the shop in 1883. Already on the property was a 1 1/2 story building. He used the first floor as his shop with the upper level as family quarters. Several years later they built a separate home . 
In the late 19th century nearly every town in Iowa had a blacksmith shop. They provided horse shoes, wagon repair, repair and upkeep of farm machinery and tools. However, Edel was an extraordinary small-town blacksmith, inventing and designing tools. His inventions and patents included Wire Grain binder (1881) used to harvest grain; Perfection De-Horning Clipper (1895) for more efficient de-horning of cattle; Fence Stretcher (1899) to assist is installing and repairing fences; Perfection Wedge Cutter (1901) produced wedges for wagons and carriages; and, Garden Weeding and Cultivating Hoe (1924) to help with gardening chores. 
He also produced decorative pieces, including iron cemetery crosses.Matthew and his son Louis built an automobile repair garage in 1915. When his father died in 1940, Louis closed the blacksmith shop. The car repair business closed 1978 when Louis died. Louis Edel's grandaughter organized the effort to preserve the historic blacksmith shop, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The State Historical Society of Iowa owns and manages the site.
1 comment:
Thank you for "taking" us along on your day trips. Your style of writing makes it interesting and we get to learn about some of the history of the country.
Mary
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