In 2014 the Berthoud Historical Society began a project to outfit the front entrance to the Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum with wrought iron fences and gates inspired by the ornamental ironwork of blacksmith A.G. Bimson.

Bimson’s stone blacksmith shop is the main building at the Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum. His shop was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

In the 1920s A.G. Bimson shifted much of his blacksmithing from agricultural to ornamental ironwork. Among his ornamental ironwork was a set of patio gates he forged for his son Walter in 1938.

These patio gates along with other ornamental pieces forged by Bimson served as the inspiration for two unique “Bimson-inspired” gates. The gates along with 22 feet of wrought iron fence span the distance between Bimson’s stone shop and the Carlson Building at the Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum.

In April 2014 Berthoud Historical Society President Mark French and Berthoud artisan blacksmith David Norrie joined forces to begin the project. Norrie used photographs of Bimson’s original iron patio gates to design two unique “Bimson-inspired” gates while French organized volunteers to work at Norrie’s forge north of Berthoud. 

French also secured the financial support of Bimson’s great-granddaughters who bore the cost of the project over three years.

French also secured the financial support of Bimson’s great-granddaughters who bore the cost of the project over three years.

When the project moved from fence-making to the gate-making phase, Norrie enlisted the assistance of several Northern Colorado blacksmiths to help him with the complicated work of fabricating the gates.

Norrie and his crew of blacksmiths forged two spectacular gates—a west gate that incorporated the design of the top section of Bimson’s original gate…

…and an east gate that featured the bottom section of Bimson’s original gate.

On July 8, 2017, the descendants of blacksmith A.G. Bimson and the members and friends of the Berthoud Historical Society gathered at the Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum for a formal dedication of the Bimson Fence and Gates. A bronze plaque crediting the project to his great-granddaughters was later installed by the fence and gates to honor them and A.G. Bimson.

Together with 22 feet of wrought iron fence, the gates form an inviting, yet secure, entry to the Pioneer Courtyard of the Little Thompson Valley Pioneer Museum.