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A familiar landmark disappear from the Big Spring scene ast week as carpenters demolish the old G. D. Griffice Black mith shop which has stood in the 00 block of Runnels street for past 40 years. The site of thousands of sweep openings and innumerable arse-shoeings, the false front of the wooden building has looked own on Runnels street traffic since 910. It is being torn down to make ay for a modern business build . The late G. D. Griffice erected the blacksmith shop 40 years ago, in the spring of 1910 after fire had destroyed a shop he had oper ated earlier where the Lyric thea ter now stands. The blacksmith shop was operated continuously by Griffice, his sons, and later his grandson, J. H. Coots, until about two months ago. At that time Coots moved to a new location at 1st and Benton streets, Sam Fisherman purchas ed the old building and lot from the Griffice estate and is now pre paring to erect a SO by 70 foot brick business building on the site. Griffice was Big Spring's first blacksmith and the only smithy in the area for a number of years. He started in the repair bus iness here in 1905. A vise which he brought to Tex as in 1882 is still used by Coots in the new shop. The ancient piece of equipment, still operated by the original screw, was made in 1819. It was used in Uniontown, Ala., during the Civil War and has seen service in Big Spring since Grif fice opened his first shop. Coots, who operates the descen dant of the Griffice Blacksmith shop, first started to work in his grandfather's shop in 1907. Fire wiped out the first building early in 1910 and the shop was moved to the Runnels street lo cation when the building now be ing torn down was erected. Coots assisted Griffice and sons intermittently until 1923 when he started operating the blacksmith shop. The Coots shop is now locat ed near the east viaduct on Benton street. The modern building which is to rise at the site of the old shop building is to be one story high to start, but its foundation will be constructed to permit addition of extra floors, Sam Fisherman, own er, said. It is to be leased to a local concern,
Newspaper Details
Big Spring Daily Herald
Big Spring, Texas, US
Sun, Apr 16, 1950
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 21 Aug 2026
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