Where to by a Used Anvil - The Firefly at Madison

We took a road trip recently on which we discovered where to buy a used anvil. The topic of “why” to buy a used anvil will have to be determined in a separate post, although there are often opportunities to use them.

This is actually a story about our road trip to Statham GA, the other day. We take road trips all the time, and in this place, it was about the used anvils and little southern town touring. Why are we telling you this? Well, it’s because there are a lot of day trips near Madison, and we do enjoy putting our guests onto some interesting experiences. We’re practically experts on travel in the southeast US. If you are a visitor from Europe and California, it’s fun to know that there are still places like this. We are experts in the field of Back Roads Travel and this is an example. Plus as part of our “Makerspace” interest, we like the idea of blacksmithing because it is Human Scale.

We were able to find a trove of these used Anvils at Statham GA which is not far from Athens. These occasionally appear in the thrift shops and other antique places near this area.

Why are we telling you this?

We’re practically experts on travel in the southeast US. If you are a visitor from Europe and California, it’s fun to know that there are still places like this. We are experts in the field of Back Roads Travel and this is an example. Plus as part of our “Makerspace” interest, we like the idea of blacksmithing because it is Human Scale.

Statham GA

Statham GA is a little jerkwater town roughly between Athens and Winder on the main railroad line. The track here is still being actively used, currently as a route for coal trains to get to one of the local power plants. I have linked the Wikipedia article below, which is a bit cryptic, even for Wikipedia. It is named after a UGA official, and founded in 1892.

We are saying “jerkwater” because it correctly describes its former function as a railroad water stop.

In fact, before the construction of highway 316 this was one of the passthrough communities between Atlanta and Athens, that was made famous by Lewis Grizzard, the late writer for the AJC. The poignant article about Statham being a barrier to young love because of the commute is linked below.

These little towns were notorious speed traps by the small town cops. We have told you about these guys haven’t we?

Anyway that is a fun article in its way.

Small Town Essential Elements

In the book “Little Southern Towns: The Nickel Tour” we talked a lot about the essential small town elements. Because it’s not the county seat, there is no confederate, But, there are a few other elements, including the prosperous and non-prosperous churches. There is also a very well preserved railroad depot which is now a tire place.

So that was the first stop. The prosperous church.

Holiday Abundance

The second stop, on the corner not far away, was this Victorian place, which says was built in 1898. Evidently the need for showing off your prosperity wasn’t as strong here. But, what is here instead is an abundant holiday display of fountains, holiday decorations, and other decor that was very meticulously maintained.

We’re saying they are Scandinavian too, to the extent that matters.

What we found a bit odd was the several “Welcome” and “Wilkommen” signs, and at the same time “private property do not enter” as if to say “you can look but don’t touch.” They probably should have just said that.

We were basically okay with that because that was part of the trip. Anyway here are some photos. We claimed a book at the Little Library which looked like it was set out just that morning.

PS: If you have something like this in town, do you ever wonder what the guy across the street thinks about decorating? Well here it is. It’s almost funny. In fact, it is funny.

Across the street from the Statham holiday House

Where to Buy a Used Anvil: The Antique Places in Statham

When we get around to writing the book on antique shopping in this area, it’s going to talk more about this. Certain antique places have certain preferred themes. Of course, the ultimate of this is the Attic Treasures in Watkinsville, which is a museum of political incorrectness. We still consider that the best one. But, we also are putting this place in that category. This is because it has a lot of old hand tools, blacksmith equipment and other gear.

If we fell into some post-armageddon situation where we had to re-fight World War 2 and re-learn how to do Blacksmithing, this is the place to come for the gear.

We could also detonate dynamite while wearing a Shriner hat. There’s a movie scene in here somewhere.

Anvils

We had a chat with the Anvil Guy, who is running two storefronts along this street. Apparently the demand for anvils is now better than it has been for a generation because of the TV show “Forged in Fire”. Apparently it is a thing to be able to make war blades of one type or another. This activity intersects with the “maker community”, which is preserving some of the traditional forging methods, and the “cosplay” community which digs carrying around swords, and dressing up in Kilts.

So, now, these anvils are in high demand, especially the big ones with the hold-down insert. We didn’t actually see any kilts.

We did ask if the price, between $750 and $1000 for a manly sized anvil was “thrifty” and he seemed to indicate that he mainly keeps them in the store as an attraction, although he does sell a couple a month.

After an exchange of “Acme” jokes, we moved on and called it good.

Abundance

in the decor department we noticed once again that a lot of these “natural” decorations can easily be had in our backyard for free.

It’s great to live in a place with such abundance. It reminds you of a time that we used to make things.

The Treasure

Every antique trip has a “treasure.” in this case it was a commemorative “Mrs. Roosevelt” plate, which had to have been FDR’s mother, and had to be from the 1932 time frame.

BBQ at the Edee’s Shack

Here it is, a lot of Brisket and cheap beer, along with Mrs. Roosevelt. The brisket was actually quite good. This is the former railroad tool shed turned into a BBQ joint, which features Karaoke and on Wednesday it is Bike Night. There is an underlying Harley culture here too.

Oh, one more thing, which is when “Big Southern Towns: The Fifty Cent Tour” comes out, you will learn about the Southern Town Attitude toward the military. A significant fraction of the population here is ex-military, and the way you know who is that they tell you.

We looked hard for the Dodge Ram with the “retired military” sticker on it, but the closest we were able to come was this BBQ joint.

It looks as though we did less well on our plate, which is valued at $5.95 on ebay.

Drive Around

We drove around town for awhile to see if there was anything interesting to see. Someone is living out the dream by fixing up one of the big old Victorian houses across from the Church. If the Zillow estimate is correct, they did well when they bought it in 2016 for $66K, and can now supposedly sell it for $176K.

Someone else, we assume, is building a lot of very expensive homes in the country around here, on acreages, that are selling for in excess of a million. So don’t be surprised if you bump into some prosperity at Karaoke night.

Ironic Moment

Did we tell you not to roll through the stopsign in one of these little towns? Here’s what happens if you do. We don’t know what this poor person was doing to get pulled over by both of the town cops, but we guess the initial traffic stop was for something avoidable.

Do Over: Where to by a Used Anvil

Is the Statham day trip a do-over? Yes a nice day trip from the Firefly could be done to here. You come here, look at the over-decorated Victorian, (which has a market price of $253K). You look at the anvils and unexploded bombs like we did, do the BBQ, and do Karaoke for an hour or two and this could be a fun trip, in a country sort of way.

Don’t speed, though, and don’t roll through the stopsigns in the middle of town. Just don’t.