What a Year 2025 Has Been!

Historic preservation has always been the mission of the Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust, particularly as it relates to original operating motorized vehicles used in Yellowstone Park prior to WWII and the historic AD Whitcomb garage in which they reside. That mission recently expanded to the preservation of the old blacksmith shop doors not-so-long-ago replaced on the backside of our historic garage located in Red Lodge. 

The wooden doors are being preserved as they have shapes and images burned into the wood by skilled blacksmiths AD and Byron Whitcomb who once worked in the blacksmith shop.  According to David Whitcomb, a Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust Board of Director, “My grandfather, AD, and father, Byron, crafted tools, hardware, agricultural implements, decorative and other objects for local ranchers, farmers and many others around the area. They crafted the objects from iron and steel, heating and shaping them using tools like hammers, tongs and anvils. They then used the backside of the blacksmith shop doors for testing. The testing involved burning the heated object into the wooden doors to look for irregularities and surface imperfections. Adjustments were made when needed with additional testing performed.”

The blacksmith doors are original to the blacksmith shop located on the backside of the garage constructed by AD Whitcomb in 1936. They replaced a previously constructed garage and blacksmith shop which AD acquired in 1925. 

According to David, “AD was a skilled blacksmith who practiced the craft in Minnesota prior to moving to Red Lodge in 1925. He passed down his mastery of blacksmithing to his son Byron, creating a family dynasty of blacksmithing. It was a skill both AD and Byron learned from hands-on experience and mentorship. They were both widely known and highly respected for their blacksmithing skills.” 

Blacksmithing was performed in the blacksmith shop into the 1960s. Byron was the primary blacksmith at that time using the skills his father had taught him. It was a vital craft that served so many in the area as evident in the many shapes and images burned into the old blacksmith doors. The doors are now on display in the historic garage located in Red Lodge.