Stoughton Wagons

As I traveled the historic Dakota plains, my mind began to wander, easily imagining early life on this picturesque part of the American frontier.  The driving wind, cold winter air and below zero harshness of this country seemed at odds with the majestic color and splendor of the accompanying sunrise.  It’s a backdrop of beauty not easily overlooked as I made my way to research yet another survivor from America’s legendary wagon makers.  Passing a tractor-trailer rig, I caught myself smiling.  The iconic brand name on the back of the trailer was Stoughton.  Ironically, this modern, well-known builder is a relative of the very wagon brand I was en route to see.  

 

The Stoughton Wagon Company carries a storied legacy dating back to the end of the Civil War.  The beginnings of the firm are actually rooted in another legendary wagon company, T.G. Mandt.  Like many of his peers, Mandt’s early successes were recognized by investors who became involved in his company in Stoughton, Wisconsin.  As time progressed, Mandt desired more latitude in business and decision-making than the corporate structure inside his company would allow.  Taking his name and numerous patents, he left and started his own firm once again. 

 

The thriving Stoughton factory that had built so many Mandt wagons quickly made the transition to building their own brand, known as the Stoughton.  With a broad distribution network already in place, the company immediately took a prominent and competitive role.  The Stoughton wagon I had the opportunity to examine still holds the majority of its vibrant, original paint.  It will likely date to the late teens of the 20th century and was sold by Olaf Melby of Summit, South Dakota.  

 

The wagon has been used very little and still carries a substantial amount of original, hand painted striping along with its ornate, stenciled logos and crisp wooden contours on the box and gear.  Each of the wheels is equipped with dodge mortised hubs.  It’s a design Stoughton consistently promoted as being stronger and better reinforcement for the foundation of the vehicle.  Complemented by a 14/16 wheel spoke combination and extra cross sills supporting the box, this near-century-old set of wheels provides an excellent look into America’s early transportation industry.  As a significant, large-scale brand, the Stoughton Wagon Company is among a host of legendary makers coveted by early vehicle collectors and enthusiasts.  While the company may be best known for their farm and freight wagons, Stoughton also built a line of carriages, spring wagons, sleighs, one horse wagons, and sheep bed wagons.  Their products were built for a wide range of needs for farms, ranches, and businesses throughout the U.S.

They Thought of it All

From wagons specifically built to carry beer, livestock and furniture to other patterns engineered for fighting fires, hauling coal, and delivering milk, the early transportation industry seemed to have a vehicle for every purpose.  Road building, landscaping, and forestry-related designs were no exceptions.  While reviewing a number of different vehicle patents, we ran across this one highlighting a wagon gear built to help move trees.

Dating to 1889, this custom set of wheels was meant to help transport and transplant mature trees.  The rear section of this design is configured to provide optimum support and care for the tree while touting a low-slung, ultra-stable wheel base with optimum maneuverability.  Specialty vehicles like this unique dray would not have been built in great quantities and, if any from this patent were built, it’s likely that few, if any, have survived. 

If you know of a specially-purposed, wood-wheeled vehicle you’d like to see profiled here, drop us a line at info@wheelsthatwonthewest.com  We’d enjoy hearing from you.

Rarity Defined

Not long ago, I was asked what constituted rarity in early horse drawn wagons.  It’s a great question but, not one with a simple – or short – answer.  Certainly, we don’t have sufficient space or time in these brief blog posts but I can share a little. 

Helping shape resale values and collector desirability, rarity is one of a dozen elements we highlighted in Volume One of our “Borrowed Time” western vehicle book series.  For historians, collectors and enthusiasts, the term can involve anything from the brand to the style of vehicle, features, paint, age, provenance, condition, originality, completeness and numerous other elements.

 

To qualify this point a bit more, nearly every set of old wooden wheels would likely rank as ‘rare’ to at least some degree.  But, different vehicles – even of the same age – can clearly have different values assigned to them.  Those price or value differences can often be traced to the very reasons something is considered to be rare or scarce.  In other words, just because something is old or even rare doesn’t make it a cinch that it’s valuable.  For instance, I have an old Herschel brand wagon seat.  They don’t make them anymore and there probably aren’t too many left with the original paint and stenciling.  So, since it’s not something you’ll find every day, it does possess an element of rareness.  However, compared to an original spring seat authenticated to belong to a Murphy, Jackson, Kansas or Espenshied brand wagon, it will likely always come up lacking.  The reason – at least in part – is that those other companies have an extremely strong heritage and rich legacy associated with the early American West.  Because of those deep-rooted connections – and also that very few of the collective hundreds of thousands of vehicles built by those brands have survived – that uniqueness and historical provenance can significantly boost the vehicle’s desirability.

 

Spending so much time researching, collecting, photographing and cataloging information on early vehicles, we’ve learned that sometimes it’s not necessarily what you’re looking for as it is what you find.  In other words, learning to recognize those things that are truly unique, peculiar or otherwise different can open up opportunities that may otherwise have been overlooked.  Of course, ‘unique’ can also mean non-original, wrong, or just that you may never have seen something before – which doesn’t always mean someone else hasn’t seen it quite often.  Without knowing what is correct and truly uncommon, it’s easy to misjudge a piece.  As with any antique, it pays to know your subject.  After all, contrary to the old saying, what you don’t know can hurt you. 

Ultimately, some of the best advice I’ve ever heard has been to know what you’re looking at and look at as many vehicles as often as you can.  Over time, the awareness learned from personal experience has a way of delivering rewards.

À l'œuvre, on connaît l'artisan

It was out of a desire to know more about early western vehicles that, nearly two decades ago, we began searching for greater information on the subject.  While it began as a hobby, the depth of study has driven our files of primary source research materials much deeper.  In fact, the pursuit has grown to include literally thousands of period photos, original catalogs, broadsides, and promotional and business pieces related to heavy wood-wheeled vehicle makers in the U.S.  No matter how much we discover, though, I never cease to be amazed – and humbled – at how much more there is to learn.  The search for more details about America’s earliest and largest transportation industry is truly never-ending.  The good news is that the quest often turns up extraordinary pieces tied to some of the most exciting eras of American history.  

 

Recently, the value of our commitment to constantly learn and grow our archives was reinforced as our Wheels That Won The West® collection (WTWTW) of images and information was tapped by the leading French equestrian publication, “Attelages” magazine.  Profiled in an extensive article entitled, “The Conquest of the West,” by Stephan Broeckx, a number of period western vehicle images and historical highlights were selected from our archives.  The story introduction is dominated by a WTWTW photo showing an early freight wagon pulled by a unique hitch of 5 horses.  Other photographic highlights from our files include an early mud coach in Oregon, a small wagon shop in Wisconsin, a surviving Peter Schuttler wagon and a Fish Bros. wagon, restored by Hansen Wheel and Wagon Shop, that we were able to assist with dating, authentication and restoration details. 

In addition to our weekly blog and regular additions of original articles on our website, we expect to have several other articles printed by additional publications this year.  Combined with the upcoming Volume 2 edition of our “Borrowed Time” western vehicle book series (Peter Schuttler), we’re busy sharing even more exclusive and little-known history.  We’re pleased to continue to help fill a niche by showcasing so many of the vehicles that helped build America.

In keeping with the spirit of the recent French article, the title of this blog is À l'œuvre, on connaît l'artisan.  Roughly translated, it’s a reminder that the craftsman is known by his work.  It’s our hope that, along with so many other historians and enthusiasts, our ephemeral archeology and historical preservation work will ultimately be viewed as beneficial research for generations to come. 

Wagon Gear Needed…

For centuries, the world depended on wooden wheels to accomplish the moving of a wide variety of things.  Beyond raw materials, equipment, supplies and crops, early wagons and wagon gears also regularly carried houses, animals and even boats.  We recently received an email from the Deltaville Maritime Museum in Deltaville, Virginia.  They have a particular need and asked if we might help spread the word.  Below is a portion of the request…

“The Deltaville Maritime Museum will be putting on a re-enactment of a gunboat capture that occurred in August, 1863. Led by Col. John Taylor Wood, the capture used four boats that Wood called boarding cutters. He carried these 28' boats overland on wagons and launched them in the dead of night.”

The museum is looking for a wood-wheeled wagon gear that could be used to replicate the original gears that would have hauled these boarding cutters.  As shown in the photo below, the keel of the boat is shallow so, it would likely fit a number of early wagon gears with minimal adaptations.  Hauling capacity would need to be at least 1,800 pounds to cover the weight of the boat and crew.  They are interested in either buying or renting the gear for the reenactment event which takes place August 16-17, 2013.  In order to have time for rehearsals, they would prefer to have the gear acquired by June or July.  For more information, interested parties are invited to contact the museum curator, Ms. Raynell Smith.  Her email address is nautinell@verizon.net
 

You Never Know… Following the Road to a Studebaker Mountain Wagon

As I’ve shared in previous articles and blog postings, vigilance is important to historians and collectors of vintage vehicles.  You never know where something important may show up.  You never know who might help lead you to those clues.  You never know how soon you might run across something extremely intriguing and… You never know what you might find if you’re simply watching at the right time.  You just never know.

Such are the stories that have repeatedly happened to me over the last 20 years… experiences that one-by-one have consistently opened doors to some of the rarest vehicle history this country ever produced.   From our discovery of an exceptionally scarce and documented 1878 Studebaker with a significant amount of original paint to personal business correspondence written by legendary wagon maker, Joseph Murphy, himself, there are countless experiences I could relate of doors being opened.  The main effort it took was simply this… a true commitment to seeking answers. It’s a point that reminds me of numerous experiences I’ve encountered during my research and travels.  (Click Here to see more images and information on this Studebaker discovery) 

Big Dreams… Profiling An 1860’s Western Freighter

By the thousands, they were once commonplace on the American frontier.  Large western freight wagons did more than just carry their weight, they built and sustained some of the most demanding and harsh regions of the U.S.  Individually and collectively, they were as big as the dreams they carried.  They were dreams of personal and corporate success; firmly committed to the task at hand; dreams built by hard work and tenacity and driven by a desire to excel.  It’s easy to look back from the comfort of our modern conveniences and minimize the everyday challenges associated with operating these big rigs.  But, the reality is these men, beasts and machines ruled the road. 

 

To illustrate that point, let’s consider just a few of the dozens of questions we could ask.  Things like… How do you negotiate sharp turns on steep, narrow mountainous terrain when the full length of your train – including horses/mules/oxen and wagons – can easily stretch 100 - 200 feet in length?  How do you maintain control while descending long grades with full loads?  Finally, when the wheel weighs several hundred pounds more than you do, how do you manage any repairs on the trail that might require it to be removed?  Clearly, there was a tremendous amount of strength, skill, finesse, wisdom and experience necessary to command an early freighting operation. 

Large and in-charge, these no-nonsense designs were especially rugged and built for strength.  (Click here to see more photos, specifications and information about this unique freighter on our Wheels That Won The West® website.)