With a history spanning more than 150
years, the Nissen wagon brand (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) was built by one of the longest-surviving wooden wagon
companies in America. The firm made wagons with both
straight and curved beds. Those curved or arched configurations have caused some to misidentify the vehicle as a Conestoga. The unique designs
are more accurately referred to as “Crooked bed wagons,” “tobacco wagons,” or “southern
schooners.” Even though many of the
Nissen wagons share similar traits with a Conestoga, they are much smaller and lighter
than those legendary heavy freighters so often used on America’s National
Road.
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Behind the original Peter Schuttler and Bain wooden signs shown here is a rare, eleven bow Nissen wagon box. Dating to the 1890’s, its size makes it among the largest examples of Nissen survivors.
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Not long ago, I came across some
additional history of the Nissen Wagon Works and thought I’d pass some of that
along here. Published in 1913, these primary
source details give us even greater insight into a firm with origins almost as
old as the American Revolution...
Throughout the Carolinas and Virginia, as well as in
other parts of the country, the “Nissen” wagon has carried the name and fame of
Winston-Salem as a manufacturing center, and probably no other product of the
Twin City is better and more favorably known, certainly none has been known for
so long a time.
The first “Nissen” wagon was made in Salem more than
one hundred and twenty-five years ago by Tyco Nissen, a native of Denmark and
one of the original colony of Moravians that settled that part of the
State. His descendants have nearly all
been wagon builders (it seems to run in the family), and the immense plant that
has grown through the years is now owned by William M. Nissen, proprietor of
the George E. Nissen Co.
From the time of the building of the first wagon in
1787 is a far cry, and the growth of the industry, backed always by
intelligence, industry and fair dealing, has shown more plainly than any
written word could do, how people appreciate a really good article.
It was not until 1834, when J.P. Nissen who died in
1874, took hold of the business, that its real growth began, and he is looked
upon as the real founder of the enterprise.
The plant now covers about 15 acres, on which have
been erected nearly half a hundred buildings and sheds, used for various
purposes, but about 50 acres of the surrounding property is owned by the
concern, for this is a growing industry, and preparations for future expansion
have been made. The capacity of the plant is 8,000 wagons a year, and
approximately 200 people are employed, not including the men engaged in selling
this standard wagon.
It is only natural that in more than a century the
construction would draw near to perfection.
Each generation of the family has contributed a share in one way or
another, and every feature that in any way would better the wagon is adopted... Some idea of its vast increase in the output
may be gained by remembering the fact that on December 31, 1912, just one
hundred and twenty-five years after the first Nissen wagon was built, a train
consisting of eleven solid carload lots, consisting of 314 complete wagons,
representing a cash value of $15,000, pulled out of Winston-Salem. If the wagons in this one shipment were stood
end to end, it would have made a solid string almost one and one-quarter miles
in length.
These wagons had been produced, one every eighteen
minutes of a working day, at the Nissen works.
Some further idea of the growth of the enterprise may be gathered when
it is mentioned that in the pioneer days a complete wagon a day, working from
sun up to sun down, was considered a great achievement, and the talk of the
surrounding country.
Upon the retirement from active business of William
E. Nissen, some three years ago, William M. Nissen became proprietor and
general manager, and under his able and energetic leadership the enterprise
continues to flourish and prosper, the product always being kept up to the high
standard that has made the “Nissen” wagon so long famous. Mr. Nissen was born in the neighborhood and
has all his life been identified with the business-life of Winston-Salem.
Today, the rich history and long legacy
of Nissen wagons continue to reinforce the brand’s popularity with collectors
and enthusiasts. It’s an age-old story
retold every time an old home place is rediscovered, a barn door opened, and someone
spots an all-but-forgotten part of America’s past. Covered in hay, clutter, and generations of
dust, these increasingly rare finds still have a way of capturing one’s
imagination and appreciation for a well-crafted set of wheels – just the way it
was more than a century ago.
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