Description of Historic Place

Jos B. Michaud Blacksmith Shop is a one-storey vernacular commercial building in the village centre, near Saint-François-Xavier Church on Commerciale Street. In 1894, Jean-Baptiste Michaud built the blacksmith shop as it is today.

Heritage Value

Jos B. Michaud Blacksmith Shop is designated a Local Historic Place for its historic role in the community of Saint-François-de-Madawaska.

Having started as a blacksmith in 1886, Jean-Baptiste Michaud built his own forge in 1894, and it remained open until 1984. It operated for nearly 100 years, maintained by Jean-Baptiste Michaud and his son Joseph in turn. It is the oldest blacksmith shop still in existence in the region, and its location in the village centre, right beside Saint-François-Xavier Church, gives it a place of importance. It is a reproduction of the father’s first blacksmith shop in Saint-Pascal, Quebec.

The restoration, which includes materials and procedures of the time, lends a cachet of authenticity to the forge. The renovations were done when the Village of Saint-François-de-Madawaska decided to buy it in 1985. Not only was it given an authentic restoration, but all of the tools were identified and classified, forming a collection of artifacts inside. The blacksmith shop is now used as a museum.

Source : Madawaska Planning Commission, Saint-François-de-Madawaska Register of Historic Places, File 3.1 – "Boutique de Forge Jos.-B.-Michaud"

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the forge include:
- location in the centre of the village;
- rectangular one-storey massing;
- gable roof;
- restoration of the section that was used for woodworking, according to the original design;
- main entrance with a sign reading “Boutique de forge Jos B. Michaud 1886-1984”;
- chimney for the forge fire;
- flag of the Republic of Madawaska on the right side of the building;
- inside, a collection of tools of the era made by the blacksmith himself have all been washed, identified, and classified; the locks, handles, and hinges were all made at the forge;
- current function as a museum.