I discovered this image of an old, antique hammer used for cobblestone trimming, from the Davis Town Museum – a regional history, tool, and art museum in the hill country of central coastal Maine.

The mission of this unique museum is to: locate, recover, restore, preserve, catalog, display, and interpret the hand tools of New England’s early American industries. … from 1607 to 1930. Relevant trades featured in the museum  include the iron forgemaster, blacksmith, shipwright, cooper, wheelwright, sail maker, pattern maker, and, after 1870, machinist, tool and die maker, and mechanic.

The cobblestone hammer was most likely brought over from England, where it was used to trim the edges of stones cut for paving streets in towns during early settlement years.

We thought it was interesting to ponder the tremendous amount of skill, strength and patience needed to use this hammer.  With it, skilled laborers were able to create the  wonderful variety of shapes and sizes of cobblestone which were common many hundreds of years ago.

Take a look at our Historic European Cobblestone collection to see the hand-made antique granite cobblestone and curb we reclaim and import from cities in Europe.  An opportunity for you to provide a new ‘home’ for pieces of history on your walkway or driveway project!