This is the blacksmith’s shop located on the grounds of the historic Daniel Boone Homestead in Exeter Township near Reading, PA. Boone was a famous pioneer, settler, soldier and explorer in the rough and tumble days of America’s childhood. Boone’s parents first settled the site in 1730 and Daniel was born here in 1734 and spent his first 16 years on this homestead before his family migrated to North Carolina. Squire Boone was a blacksmith by trade and would have had a building similar to this on his farm. This structure dates from 1769 and was moved to this site from nearby Amityville.
A nice, quiet meadow and a place to sit.
This is a tiny log and mortar cabin near the sawmill. I think it may have been used for storage of saw blades and other non-bulky items for the saw mill when it was in operation.
This German bank barn is the type which the DeTurk family who later owned the homestead property probably erected in the late eighteenth century. Portions of this barn are original. The lower level was a stable for animals, with the attached shed to the left used for wagon and implement storage. They keep a couple of horses and sheep today in the lower level for visitors to interact with.
The Boone House began as a one-room, one-story log house built by Daniel Boone’s Father in 1730, and included a cellar with a spring. Daniel was born in the log house in 1734. Sometime around the middle of the century, the large, stone two-story section of the present house that is fronted by the porch was built and attached to the log house. This larger section was constructed either by the Boones or by the second owner, William Maugridge. John DeTurk, a later owner, razed the log-house section in 1779 and replaced it with the two-story section of stone to the left of the porch (as you face the house). DeTurk retained the original log-house foundation and cellar.
The smaller dwelling to the right is a smokehouse, probably built by the DeTurk family in the late eighteenth century. It was used to smoke pork and other meats as a means of preservation, with the meat hung from the joists above and the fire built directly on the dirt floor below. Apple and hickory were the woods preferred for the fire. Above the loft was a meat-storage area.
For more information on visiting the Daniel Boone Homestead visit their web site.
I shot this as five RAW bracketed frames then converted it to an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image using Photomatix Pro. There were no lights inside the blacksmith’s shop and there was a fence baring entrance so I had to shoot into complete backlighting since the sun was coming through the back window. This is where HDR techniques really pay off.
This was one of four historic Berks County locations I shot on Sunday 5-24-2009.
