Tom Frew II
Newhall Blacksmith

Thomas McNaughton Frew II, a native of Scotland, came to Newhall in the year 1900 with his blacksmithing tools and 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 San Fernando Road) between Market and Eighth Streets. The family home sat next door, at the corner of Market and Spruce.

Tom II and his wife, Evangeline, had eleven children, eight of whom lived to adulthood. One of them was Tom III, who was born in 1896 and took over the family business upon his father's death. 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. Information provided by Tom Frew IV. For more on the Frew family, read The Accidental Blacksmiths Of Old Newhall by Ruth Waldo Newhall.