I saw a blacksmith's mark from 1872 on a gate in Charleston

I was walking through the historic district in Charleston last weekend and stopped to look at an old iron gate. Right there on the hinge, clear as day, was a stamped mark with the initials 'J.H.' and the year 1872. It made me think about how long that piece has been there, holding up through all that weather. The work was simple but really solid, with clean scrolls at the top. Has anyone else found old marks like that and tried to figure out who made them?

2 comments

2 Comments

thea_chen1d ago

My great aunt's house in Savannah has the same kind of mark on its original fence latch, dated 1888 with the letters 'R.L.'. It took me forever to find a city directory from that year and match it to a Robert Lynch who had a small forge on Bay Street. The feeling of finding that connection is just the best. What's the coolest old mark you've managed to track down?

milesl6223h ago

That's so cool, @thea_chen. I wish I had a story like that. My best "find" was a mark on an old cast iron skillet that I got way too excited about. Spent a whole weekend digging online, only to realize it was just a common factory stamp from the 1950s. I basically just tracked down a mass-produced breakfast pan. The feeling was more like "oh, I'm an idiot" than finding a real connection. Still love the skillet though.