A native of East Tennessee, a lover of history, and a professional historical archaeologist, Alan has been a blacksmith since 1998. He completed his first kit rifle at age 15, then set the craft aside until he had finished school with an MA in anthropology in 1996. His interest in the material culture of the late 18th century southeast and the ability to recreate it got a strong revival when he moved to Morgantown, KY in 1999 and discovered he was neighbors with the House family just down the road in Woodbury. As happens when you hang out with that bunch, Alan ended up at Conner Prairie for a couple of classes, and the rest is history.
After moving back to Tennessee in 2002, Alan specializes in tomahawks, axes, and knives of the late 18th-early 19th century. His weekday job as archaeologist for the Tennessee Department of Transportation gives way to his weekend passion for hand-wrought steel, including smelting and making his own steel from local ores.