Someone stole many items from the historic Hegarty Blacksmith Shop in downtown Tamaqua in late April and the historical society is offering a reward to get them back.

Tamaqua Historical Society president Dale Freudenberger said the incident happened on or before April 24.

“We hope that we can recover these items,” Freudenberger said. “They are part of our local history and are irreplaceable. Many of the pieces that were stolen have individual histories of where they were made, or where they were used in Tamaqua. A $500 reward is being offered for recovery of the items.”

The items include two heavy cast iron anvils, a heavy cast iron swage block with round and square holes cast in it, a horse’s tail attached to a handle, a variety of blacksmith tools (iron tongs, hammers etc.), a bell-sharped iron tether, several barn lanterns, a railroad wick lamp, a bench top-hand operated grindstone, and a painted wooden barn box with yellow pinstriping.

“This list of stolen items is mostly up to date, except for one item we forgot, which is a wooden wheelbarrow that is painted orange,” said Freudenberger. “We believe it may have been used to cart the heavy items out of the Blacksmith Shop.”

The Hegarty Blacksmith Shop was operated continuously by three generations of the Hegarty family from 1848-1973. It was built by Thomas Hegarty, who emigrated from Ireland in 1848.

It was the oldest operating business in Schuylkill County when it closed. The shop and its entire contents were donated to the Tamaqua Historical Society at that time. It’s open as a blacksmithing museum and historic site during community events in Tamaqua with a working Blacksmith providing demonstrations.

Anyone with information should contact Freudenberger at 610-597-6722 or dalefreud@gmail.com.