The blacksmith shop, probably in South Forestville, was built during the winter of 1861-1862 by J.R. McKisson, the town's first blacksmith, but it is not known whether this was Forestville's first blacksmith shop. It was a simple, one-story frame structure with a wood-shingled roof. In 1864 a brick chimney was added by blacksmith Thomas Reed. At the time of this photograph, the building's clapboard siding remained unpainted.

Until iron goods were mass-produced, the blacksmith was a town's master craftsman who fabricated everything from door hinges to plowshares (rounded cutting blade of the plow). After the Industrial Revolution made many iron goods readily available on a massive scale, the blacksmith's job was relegated to that of a horse-shoer and repairman. The Forestville shop was demolished before 1940.

Note what appear to be an outhouse and residence in the background on the sides of the structure.