August 2025 Volume 7

FOUNDATION NEWS

FORGED IN JOHNSTOWN Preserving a City’s Steelmaking Heritage Through Craft Education By Bill Meinel

I ndustrial hammers forging iron and steel echo through the valley in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, once again. It is not the sound of mass production this time, but something older, slower, and of incredible importance. It is the rhythm of forging, reawakened in Johnstown through the outlet of education. The Center for Metal Arts (CMA) is forging more than just iron and steel; it’s forging a new identity, a new legacy, and a future for these historically significant machines and the city of Johnstown through education, historic preservation, and creativity. The Center for Metal Arts is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit forging school redefining what it means to preserve industrial heritage through hands-on forging

hammers, a Bement Miles #4000, a Chambersburg #3000, and a #10,000 W.H. Sellars double arch. Nestled among those once steam-operated giants is also a Chambersburg #2000 self contained air hammer. “We realized we could create a much richer and more meaningful educational experience for our students if we moved to a place with historical integrity and industrial forging capabilities," says Patrick Quinn, Executive Director of CMA. “Johnstown had the bones, and it had the soul.” CMA’s relocation was not just a logistical shift; it was a philosophical one. Their new campus and the city of Johnstown offered the infrastructure to transform the organization from a regional school into a national center, uniquely positioned at the crossroads of industrial heritage and modern forging education. The belief in and support of CMA’s mission by The Johnstown Redevelopment Authority, The Community Foundation of the Alleghenies, Richard Burkert (former President of Johnstown Area Heritage Association) , and Kathleen Ortel (former CEO of Korns Galvanizing) is having an incredible impact on the craft of forging and the City of Johnstown. A Progressive Educational Model CMA offers hands-on workshops in the craft of forging, covering topics that range from tool making and architectural work to traditional joinery and sculpture. These classes, which span from one-day introductions to six-week intensive programs and residencies, provide a hands-on, comprehensive approach to learning. Their educational philosophy combines and emphasizes both historical context and artistic innovation. Students gain access not only to industrial equipment and technique-based lessons but also instruction in forging mathematics and geometry, essential skills for large-scale forging. Programs like “Calculate Your Forgings” combine both insights into industrial forging processes with project planning and calculations to ensure success, blending historical methods with contemporary creative applications. Courses like "Forging Focus," the "Winter Residency," and "School is Cool" are long-term scholarship-funded classes that introduce students to everything from foundational forging processes to independent study and what it takes to successfully teach forging to others. Alongside these flagship workshops, CMA hosts different visiting instructors every year who teach a variety of topics through one and two-week workshops. CMA is also collaborating with the Forging Industry Association (FIA) and the Forging Industry Educational and Research Foundation (FIERF) to aid with the design of curriculum for FIERF’s College Forging Clubs; an initiative aimed at preparing students in engineering and technical programs to engage more deeply with hands-on forging processes and forge-shop culture. The campus itself is a tool. Students learn on restored power

Forging a 200lb bridge anvil top (Johnstown pattern)

and blacksmith education. Located on a site rich with American industrial forging heritage, CMA’s mission is to maintain a high quality educational forging program, providing the best-equipped facility deeply rooted in the traditions and history of this craft, reaching and serving the broadest possible audience of artists, craftspeople, and students in the U.S. and abroad. Core to this mission is the preservation through use of the historic Cambria Iron Company facilities in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. CMA & Johnstown In 2018, CMA relocated from New York’s Lower Hudson Valley to the Cambria Iron and Steel National Historic Landmark Site. Cambria (1850s - 1923), then Bethlehem Steel until plant closure in 1992, was a national leader in steel production and a pioneer in utilizing the Bessemer process. Preserved on this site are several historically significant mill buildings, including the rare and incredibly beautiful circa 1850s industrial forge shop that helped grow Johnstown and western Pennsylvania into industrial pioneers and leaders. Behind the doors of this beautiful building await a significant quantity of tooling and equipment, the inspiration and catalyst for CMA’s move to Johnstown. Among this rare and priceless collection of American industrial hand tools are several utility

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