Wallace Gusler, master gunsmith at Colonial Williamsburg and an expert on rifles from Virginia and West Virginia, presented Longrifles made by the Sheetz Family and others, September 13
COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG MASTER GUNSMITH – SEPTEMBER 13 SEMINAR IN SHEPHERDSTOWN
Wallace Gusler, the first master gunsmith at Colonial Williamsburg and a well-known expert on rifles from Virginia and West Virginia, gave a talk entitled Longrifles Made by the Sheetz Family and Others on Saturday, September 13, at the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center in Shepherdstown, WV, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The seminar was given in conjunction with Historic Shepherdstown Museum’s exhibit of Kentucky Longrifles by the Sheetz Family and other gunsmiths of Jefferson and Berkeley Counties. Both the talk and the exhibit were being co-sponsored by Historic Shepherdstown and the Kentucky Rifle Foundation. Gusler showed examples of Shenandoah Valley rifles and discuss the origins and members of the Sheetz family, who made rifles in Shepherdstown and other areas of the valley. The museum exhibit of rifles was open after the talk and every weekend until October 19th.
“Historic Shepherdstown is excited to host Wallace Gusler,” said Donna Bertazzoni, a Historic Shepherdstown board member who helped organize the longrifle exhibit. “He has been studying and building flintlock rifles, rifle makers, and the gunsmith craft since he was a teenager. His knowledge comes from both hands-on experience and deep research. He is one of the most skilled craftsmen of the era and his rifles are highly prized.”
Gusler is the first person in modern times to recreate the traditional processes of making long rifles by hand. He made Colonial Williamsburg’s first hand-forged rifle barrel, and in 1965, he made its first rifle fabricated entirely of hand-made parts from 18th century-style tools he made. He served at Colonial Williamsburg for more than 40 years.
