Back On The Trail…

Hansen Restores Rare 19th Century Freight Wagon

 

LETCHER, SD – After more than 500 hours of detailed restoration and conservation work, an extremely rare western freight wagon is ready for even more time on the trail.  The 19th century giant was brought to Hansen Wheel and Wagon Shop in Letcher, South Dakota for extensive blacksmith, wainwright and wheelwright work.  Originally built in the late 1800’s, the massive wagon stretches over 16 feet in length, 14 feet in height and includes a carrying capacity close to 9 tons. Read the full article here.

 

Preserving National Treasures

One At a Time

In the action-adventure, motion picture hit, National Treasure, the historian-turned-treasure-hunter, Ben Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage), is in a race to find and preserve crucial aspects of American history.

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Stagecoach & Freight Wagon Association Article

Hansen Takes Reins of New Organization

LETCHER, SD – When it comes to experience with vehicles straight out of the Old West, few modern day enthusiasts have seen as much wheeled history as Doug Hansen and his team of craftsmen at Hansen Wheel and Wagon Shop in Letcher, South Dakota.  More than thirty years ago, Hansen started his business after applying his woodworking skills to the resurrection of a small horse drawn buggy. Today, his organization is both nationally and internationally acclaimed for their historically authentic reproductions, delicate restorations and detailed conservation work... 

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Military Escort Wagon

During and after the Civil War, animal drawn Pontoon wagons, Daugherty wagons, Escort wagons, ambulances, caissons and other military support vehicles were a lifeline for a new nation determined to grow and defend its territories. Over the years, these and other military vehicles were built by a number of government-approved contractors like Studebaker, Kentucky, Thornhill, International Harvester and other well-known brands. Each of the pieces was designed for rapid deployment, exceptional strength, ease of maintenance and specific tasks.

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Idaho Freight Wagons

They’re among the last visible icons of a dramatic bygone era. They stocked the shelves of America’s early merchants and traders, kept communication flowing into many of the most remote reaches of the frontier, and helped open the West with the new-found wealth of the nation. These were the Freight Wagons. Built for a single profit-driven purpose, they were designed to take a literal beating while carrying massive amounts of goods, supplies, equipment and raw ore. But, creating these designs was just the first step in a long line of business logistics and challenges. Before the goods and raw materials could arrive at their destinations, they had to overcome the demands of poor and non-existing roads.

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Stages of Life

Western Mail Coaches, Mud Wagons, Overland Wagons, Concord Coaches, Celerity Wagons and Tarragons, there are a variety of names given to the different styles of early horse drawn stages used across America in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. In spite of the thousands built by a number of different firms, most have not survived the passage of time. Some met their end through accidents, runaway teams or an assortment of other hostilities in the remote regions they traveled. Others were abandoned, left outdoors and allowed to succumb to the ravages of time and weather.
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Arabia's Buried Treasure

When it comes to unlocking life’s mysteries, archaeologists, historians, explorers and

scientists have long shared a similar passion for discovery. To that point, it can be a painfully slow task to connect the faded dots of history with the missing pieces of time.  But, the anatomy of research has its own set of rewards and every now and then an experience comes along that changes a way of thinking while re-energizing even the most jaded adventurer.  So it was on

March 28th, 2007 when I walked through

the doors of the 21st century and came face to face with the world of

      Photo Courtesy of Arabia Steamboat Museum      my emigrant ancestors.

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Out of the Woods

Ever found yourself yearning for a job in the great outdoors? Spend a couple weeks

swinging a splitting maul and stacking firewood or maybe take an extended ‘vacation’ to cut some logs for extra money and you’ll likely be proud to get back to your regular job – whatever it is. Excursions like those are just small reminders of what was required to work with timber in the 1800’s. While the tasks are still time-consuming, gone are the days when getting timber out of the woods was such a perilously arduous task.
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Lessons of the Old Masters–Hansen Wheel & Wagon
by Lynn Telleen
published in The Draft Horse Journal, Summer 2001

The hitch wagons used by several of the famous teams of “Packingtown” have influenced the “modern” draft horse wagons more than you may know. Armour Packing Company, Wilson & Company and Swift & Company, among America’s most famous commercial hitches in the first half of the 20th century, all used vintage heavy express trucks built by Studebaker Brothers & Company, South Bend, Indiana. Each wagon was built between 1899 and 1905 and each possessed the “swale back” design, or curved box, setting it apart from other freight vehicles. Read the full article at The Draft Horse Journal

Crafting Vintage Vehicles

Wheelwright Tim Hoffman pours water on a hot rim of steel and momentarily disappears in a billowy cloud of steam at Hansen Wheel & Wagon Shop in Letcher, S.D. (pop. 160).

“We don’t use glue or nails to hold the spoke to the wheel, so the shrinking steel pulls everything up tightly for a strong bond,” says Hoffman, 31, who has been perfecting the art of wooden wheel making for six years. Read the full article at American Profile.