Tom Frew II (Newhall's first Tom Frew, at right) stands behind his blacksmith shop on Spruce Street (now Main) in the 1920s. The front of the building has undergone major changes, chiefly a conversion from wood to stucco in 1936, and the building has multiple tenants today (2014), but the back side of the building hasn't changed too much. The corrugated metal can still be seen, along with some of the bigger equipment left over from the blacksmith trade, which went out in 1970.

Thomas McNaughton Frew II (April 2, 1852 - Aug. 11, 1928), a native of Ardria, Scotland, came to the United States in either 1881 or 1886 (Census records conflict) and arrived in Newhall in 1900 with his blacksmithing tools. Here he established a trade that would last for 70 years and three generations. His shop, which he purchased for the lofty sum of $400, was located on Spruce Street (now 24311-24313 Main Street) between Market and Eighth Streets. The family home sat next door, at the corner of Market and Spruce, and was included in the price.

Tom II and his wife Evangeline (b. 1872 in Wisconsin) had eleven children, eight of whom lived to adulthood. One was Tom III, aka Thomas Frew Jr. (Jan. 31, 1895 - Aug. 17, 1963), took over the family business upon his father's death (in Lasalle, Ill., where he is buried). In like fashion, Tom IV later ran the shop, which he ultimately shut in 1970.

Back in 1913, Tom II purchased a 23-acre parcel of land adjacent to actor William S. Hart's property in downtown Newhall. Today, a portion of the Frew land is known as "Heritage Junction," the home of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and the Saugus Train Station.

Further reading: The Accidental Blacksmiths Of Old Newhall by Ruth Waldo Newhall.