The Gunsmith & Cabinetmaker Shop was built in c.1870 and was moved to the Genesee Country Village & Museum from Dalton, NY where it now resides in the Antebellum Village section. The building was owned by Jonathan Thompson and his brother Joseph who ran a general repair business and occasionally made and repaired guns. The tools and equipment in the shop were obtained from the Amos Wood Gunshop in North Hamden, NY. Wood was an apprentice under A.D. Bishop from Decatur, NY and the guns made by Wood and Thompson are almost identical.
In the early days of gun repair, if a pioneer’s gun was not effective, they could take it to a gunsmith like Wm Antis, who set up a gunsmith shop in Canandaigua in 1790. Antis could repair the gun or sell a new one for around $8 to $9, while a second-hand fowling piece could be purchased for $2 to $3. By 1803, the Remington Arms Co began to mass-produce gun parts and supplied them to gunsmiths like Antis. The gunsmith was not only skilled in repairing guns but was also an accomplished woodworker and joiner, and could replace or repair gunstocks. The gunsmith had to have the skills and tools of a jeweler to make springs and engrave patch boxes.
The Genesee Country Village & Museum is located at 1410 Flint Hill Road (George Street) in Mumford, NY.
Posted by dennieorson on 2011-05-24 03:26:27