Blacksmith Shop (Reconstructed 1960)

This building is a reconstruction of the Blacksmith shop belonging to James Black, the man who forged Jim Bowie’s famous knife. The original building sat closer to the Southwest Trail on the edge of town. The reconstruction was built in a more accessible location by the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation and dedicated on May 31, 1961. The exact location of the shop is still unknown pending further research. Guided tours are available of the building. Visit the Historic Washington State Park Visitor Center for more information.

Born in 1800 in New Jersey, James Black ran away to Philadelphia at the age of 8, where became a silver-plating apprentice. After a brief time in Louisiana, Black moved to Washington around 1822, and set up a partnership with local Blacksmith William Shaw. Their partnership deteriorated over Shaw’s disapproval of Black’s marriage to his daughter, Anne in 1828.

Around 1830-1831, Jim Bowie came by the shop and asked James Black to make a knife for him. It is from this meeting, that James Black is credited for making the "Bowie Knife". Black's design included the famous "coffin-shaped" handle made from Black Walnut and silver trim. Black became very successful after this event.

In 1835 tragedy hits James Black with the death of his wife. By 1836, William Shaw is declared the guardian of James Black because he suffered from insanity according to Shaw. Later, while recovering from sickness, Black was severely beaten in his home by Shaw, an attack that cost him most of his eyesight. After leaving the region to seek medical help for his blindness, Black lost custody of his five children to Shaw, who also seized and sold his property. Now officially a pauper, Black was taken in by the family of Dr. Isaac Newton Jones in 1844. Full blindness and dementia effected Black until his death in the home of Jones’s son, future Arkansas Governor Daniel Webster Jones, in 1872.

As early as 1841, James Black had been attributed with forging the famous knife for Jim Bowie. James Black would entertain locals by telling stories of the early frontier in Washington. In 1870, he tried to recount the way he made the “Bowie Knife” to Daniel W. Jones. He could not remember and supposedly rubbed his forehead with such ferocity as to draw blood while screaming “My God! My God! It has all gone from me!” He went to his grave with his knife making method.

Batson, Jr., James L.. James Black and his Coffin Bowie Knives. Huntsville, Alabama. Batson Engineering and Metalworks, 2019.

"The Bowie Knife." Washington Telegraph (Washington) December 8th 1841. , p. 2.

Brooke, Steven. Historic Washington, Arkansas. Gretna, Louisiana. Pelican Publishing Company, 2000.

Medearis, Mary. Washington, Arkansas : History on the Southwest Trail. Hope, Arkansas. Copies + Office Solutions, 1984.

Williams, Charlean Moss. The Old Town Speaks : Washington, Hempstead County, Arkansas, gateway to Texas, 1835, Confederate capital, 1863. Houston, Texas. The Anson Jones Press, 1951.

Williams, Joshua. Washington. Images of America. Charleston, South Carolina. Arcadia Publishing, 2014.

Williams, Joshua. Black, James, Encyclopedia of Arkansas . November 18th 2011. Accessed April 15th 2022. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/james-Black-2534/.