Oak Hill, WV (WOAY) – At 14 years old, Eugene Ratliff learned himself a trade that few people in southern West Virginia still practice. More than half a century later, he believes he may be the only working blacksmith left in Fayette County.
Ratliff got his start by seeking out the older blacksmiths who were still around when he was a boy, including a man named Mr. Drake who lived on Woods Avenue in Oak Hill.
“I told him who I was and what I wanted. And we sat there and talked and talked and talked, and I took notes,” Ratliff said.
That approach shaped how he learned the craft, one conversation and one demonstration at a time.
“If you just keep your mouth shut and watch the man work, you’ll learn more by watching him than running your mouth,” he said.
The work eventually took him beyond his own shop. Ratliff says he spent two years redoing the ironwork on the Philippi Covered Bridge, and that his pieces have ended up as far away as George Washington’s farm and Andrew Jackson’s birthplace.
Today, Ratliff says he is not aware of anyone else still taking on blacksmithing work in the county. He says interest in the trade has faded, especially among younger people.
“These young people today, they don’t want hot, dirty work. They want easy, clean work and lots of money coming in. It’s not gonna happen. It just won’t happen,” he said.
He has taught students over the years, but says many of them have since passed away, and the younger ones never stuck with it. The trade is thinning even within his own family.
“I have one son, my oldest son, that blacksmithed, and he passed away two years ago. My youngest son, he’s a metal fabricator. He’s not interested in this,” Ratliff said.
For Ratliff, the bigger loss is the knowledge itself, built over a lifetime at the anvil.
“Once I’m gone, it’s gone,” he said. “It really is a shame. But what do you do? It just moves on. It’s just part of history.”
