About Us
Our Story
At the age of twenty, Frank W. Boyler founded Boyler's Blacksmith Shop on the corner of 11th St. and Jersey Ridge Road (the current street names). Horseshoeing and general blacksmithing were the original services. The upper floors of the building were his living quarters and rooming house. Later an addition was added to the north and a wagon works installed where buggies and wagons were handmade. Frank was a popular and extremely colorful man. Stories about him still abound. He is remembered as the Mayor of East Davenport, with fierce political beliefs.
With the increasing popularity of the automobile and the decline of horsepower, a storage tank and gas pumps were added, along with a mechanical hoist in the wagon building, making Frank Boyler the operator of the first service station in East Davenport.
As an alternative to the dwindling need for blacksmithing, Boyler's Blacksmith Shop turned to producing ornamental iron railings. With the invention and popularity of electric arc welding. Boyler's also became a welding and repair shop.
When his father passed away in 1949, Richard Boyler took over the business and under his direction there were many changes. The emphasis was placed on ornamental iron as a primary product. The business has been moved twice into larger facilities. The first was from the original building to the wagon works building to the north, doubling its size. In 1975, the shop was moved to its present 6,000 sq. ft. location with the former facilities being kept as a display area. The services being offered changed to include commercial and industrial items, steel stairways, spiral stairways, security doors, and custom steel fabrication.
Today, Boyler's Ornamental Iron is headed by the third and fourth generation-continuing in the tradition of quality set forth by their grandparents.
