Napa County Historical Society’s Haus Blacksmith Shop in Pope Valley

(www.NapaHistory.org)

Henry Haus was born in Switzerland and came to pope Valley in 1889 at the age of sixteen, He opened his blacksmith and wagon shop in 1897 caring for the needs of the valley until 1950. The building was constructed in 1890 and looks the same as when he closed the doors.

Haus married Regula Aimain 1899 andthey spent their lifetime together in Pope Valley. They had four sons- Herman H., Ernest U., Henry, Jr., and George H. Henry died on December 8, 1955.

Herman, after 34 years as a butcher, returned to St. Helena and operated the St Helena Meat Market together with Rento Corbello. In August 1970, he retired to the family home in Pope Valley that adjoins with the blacksmith shop. He was the guardian of the shop until his death on March 17, 1988.

On August 21, 1982, the Sam l3rannan Chapter of E Clampus Vitus in cooperation with the Napa County Historical Society dedicated a plaque marking the site. In December 1984, Herman H. Haus donated the "Henry Haus Blacksmith and Wagonmaker Shop" to the Napa County Historical Society.

The double doors swing outward, wagons and horses easily moved through this entrance. The floor is 2-inch wood plank. The blacksmith had many tools for shaping metal and the wagon maker wood working tools. The shop is separated into several sections. Make the complete circuit as the items on the right are viewed in sequence.

Inside on the right is a shelf on which is mounted a pipe vice. Tie rods fasten this to the floor to relieve the strain of cutting threads either on pipes or iron rods. A slide panel covers an opening in the north wall through which an item from the outside clamped in the vice and extended a short section beyond the shelf The end of which was squared and threaded. Several pipe dies are mounted on the inside of that north wall.

The large cast iron kettle had several uses in an agricultural community, the principal one as a scalding pot.

The imposing tool is a bottle corker. A bottle full of liquid placed on the platform, raised to position by the use of the foot peddle, a cork placed into the neck is sealed by forcing the plunger downward using the hand lever.

The horseshoes mounted on the west wall include some shapes designed to correct the known ailments of the horses' hoofs.

Cattlemen and owners of stick branded their cattle for identification with their own registered brand. Branding irons were made in this shop and examples of some are burnt into the wood under the display of horseshoes. Many more are on the inside and outside walls of the building.

The four -wheeled wagon is the style which was often the family's transportation. The two-wheeled Petalunia Tilt-up seat can was also commonly used. The left hand seat was titled to enter the vehicle from the rear. Wooden wagon wheels consisted of hub, spokes, rim and metal to that were repaired or assembled here. The spokes set in a groove in the hub. Iron hub bands mounted on the shoulders of the groove absorb the stresses carried buy the spokes.

The circumference of the shoulders of the hub and the rim were carefully measured. Strips of iron one-inch wide by 1/4-inch thick, cut in lengths two slightly less than the circumference of the hub shoulders and the third approximately, 1/2-inch less than the rim circumference. The ends of each piece were heated and welded by hammering together on an anvil to form a complete circle. The two heated bands were placed upon the tapered come (mandrel) to true the circular form, placed upon the hub shoulders and the assembled hub immediately quenched in a water bath to cool and shrink the bands securely to the hub.

The hub, spokes and rim were assembled on a tripod. The tire was expanded by heat, placed on the rim and quenched to securely tighten the whole wheel.

The metal tires expanded in hot weather and became loose on the rim. The tire was removed from the wheel. A section was heated and placed in the "tire upsetter" between the clamps and by use of the long handle lever the heated material was forced together to reduce the circumference at least 1/2-inch. The whole tire was expanded by heat placed on the rim and then quenched in water. The "tire upsetter" (tire shrinker) lies on the floor adjacent to the wagon.

The two 2-man saw blades under the wagon and the bamboo poles on the roof rafters were also necessary items in a farming community. The saws were used to replenish the firewood and the poles to knock down the walnuts from the trees.

The band saw, an important wagon makers' tool, is belt driven from the overhead power supply.

The top shelf, along the remainder of the west wall, is the storage area for wheel parts consisting of hubs, wooden spokes, circular arc rim sections and the iron strips (for tires and hub straps). The lower shelf displays tobacco tin pails (sometimes used as lunch pails) to store screws, nuts, bolts and nails. The bench, drawers and shelves along the south wall are the working area and contain the numerous tools of the wagon maker.

Concrete footings supported the gasoline motor, the original power source. (The water flow in the creek was not sufficient to generate water wheel power). The generated power was transmitted to the gear assembly by drive shaft, then by belt transferred overhead to the pulley system. Hand levers shift the belts to power the upright drill press, a grindstone and the band saw. The gasoline motor was abandoned and replaced with electric power when electricity service was available in Pope Valley.

On the bench, along the east wall and under the pulley assembly, are some of the cold metal work areas and tools including wrenches, taps, dies and hammers.

The "Blacksmith's Half Hooded Forge" consist of hearth, blower, hood and chimney. The flame of the coal fire set on hearth intensified by forced air from the blower heated the tong help item to a color known by experience to be the temperature to shape on the anvil or to temper by quenching in the water barrel. The tool rack holds many hand help tools such as swages, fullers, flatters, hammer creasers, punches, heading tools, chisels and knives.

Henry Haus, in 1910 patented the device designed to cut and bevel the ends of a heated horseshoe. He embedded his trademark on horseshoes or items he made. This trademark was a three-leaf clover with a curled stem molded on the end of a tool steel rod. Mule shoes are nailed to the wall next to the forge.

The sloped shelf near the door, served as his desk. Horseshoe nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc. are stored on the shelves below. Miscellaneous bolts are in the adjacent cabinets.

An addition, with cement floor and corrugated metal roof, constructed on the east side of the original shop housed the garage. Gears, 33-inch tires, license plates and a gasoline pump share this pace with pieces of farm equipment, such as corn sheller and corn grinding mill.

Wagon wheel tires were heated in a furnace that is located outside at the southeast corner of the garage building. The cement structure shows the effect of time and the exposed reinforcing includes horseshoes and other metal scraps.

Napa County Historical Society

1219 First Street

Napa, CA 94559

707-224-1739

www.napahistory.org