This unusually fine decorated tack hammer descends from an early machine shop in Rhode Island. The machine shop was first established by George Olney, in Lincoln, RI, between 1810 and 1812. It was made to serve at least two mills to be built on the site, powered by the waters of the Mushassock River. In the late 1840s ownership of the machine shop passed to the Moffett family, who continued to operate the shop, doing not only blacksmith work, but woodworking, such as building boxes, pulleys, etc. In 1888 the ownership of the machine shop passed to Edmund Moffett until the early 1900s when the shop more or less fell out of use. This hammer was one of a number of tools that had been used in the machine shop. While the hot stamp on the top of the head is not readable, the handle is stamped on both sides, “E. B. Moffett.” This is most likely Edmund Moffett, or one of his three sons, also named “Edmund.” In excellent condition with hand filed decoration on the near perfect head, it is a treasure of Rhode Island history. Fine.
