West Liberty History 1838-1938

Source: One Hundred Years of History
* Commemorating a Century of Progress in the West Liberty Community * WEST LIBERTY, IOWA
FIRST BLACKSMITH SHOP

Ephriam Fenstermaker born in Duncannon, Pa., 1817, married Sarah Shoemaker, also of Pennsylvania, in 1841. With three children they came to West Liberty in 1856, when Mr. Fenstermaker established the first blacksmith shop in the town. This shop was on the piece of ground which is now the railroad park and faced the east. At that time Fourth street did not extend to the depot. In 1862, the Fenstermakers bought a farm three miles north of town where their eight children were reared. After the death of his wife in 1882, he returned to West Liberty where he lived until his death in 1901.

Two daughters are living in Colorado and members of the third and fourth generations in West Liberty.

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