Before you still stands the house and the outbuilding housing the old forge of the Cartier family. As you step back in time, imagine the double doors open and the blacksmith at work inside, clanging his hammer on the anvil in front of his fire.
The blacksmith’s workshop was a place of work but also a meeting place. Many people gathered there, coming and going, on the lookout for the latest news. In terms of popularity, it was kind of the equivalent of the general store.
On site, take a good look at the location of Émile Cartier’s shop: at the junction of rang Sainte-Anne and rue Notre-Dame. The place was almost a must stop for anyone passing by.
At the beginning of the 20th century, three forges were at work in the village: that of Mr. Omer Lachapele, that of Mr. Adélard Lachapelle and finally that of the Cartier family, present in this place since the 1880s.
Émile Cartier, youngest of a family of 12 children, took over the family forge and worked there until 1989. It is a surprising longevity for a traditional trade which became less and less necessary as progress marched on. With the replacement of the horse by the tractor and the automobile and with the arrival of the big stores, offering a multitude of manufactured parts at a fraction of the cost, no one needed the artisan’s handmade parts. Thus, slowly, the village blacksmith saw his customers go to the mechanic. Besides, is it really a coincidence that we find a garage almost directly across from his home, on the other side of the street?