Part V - Wagon and Cart

January, 2009

When I first discovered the old house, I found, to my surprise, an old wooden wagon parked underneath its awning. Shielded from the rain, it was in rather amazing condition. With wooden sides and iron wheels, it likely dates to the late 1800s.



The wife of the landowner said that the old woman from whom they bought the place told of picking corn and throwing it into the wagon, which was pulled by horses down the rows as they harvested. Indeed, it was never designed for human riding - it has no seat, for instance - but it could clearly be adapted if the case arose. Generally, however, the team of horses was probably led by a man walking beside them.

The wagon was not part of the original deal for the house, but over the months as I worked on the house, I progressively bargained with the landowner. You could tell he didn't want to part with it easily, but on the other hand, he didn't have the time or interest to take care of it. With the house that had been shielding it gone, the wagon looked doomed to sit in the field, exposed to the weather.

Finally, he let me buy the wagon.

There was also a small cart at the site. It looks like a standard wagon frame that was retroactively mounted to what was probably an old Model T axle. I tossed in a bit extra on my wagon offer and got the cart too.

The wagon, loaded up on the trailer, ready to haul off to its new home (our barn, for now, where it will be safely out of the weather). The wagon actually rolls surprisingly well. There's a bit of a sensation of metal grinding on metal, but two people can push it fairly easily. To get it onto the trailer, we backed up to a small rise, then rolled the wagon to the edge. Two people, myself and the wagon's former owner, were able to lift the wagon just enough to get the back wheels onto the trailer. Then we rolled it forward and got the front wheels up.

The small cart, still sitting next to the last section of the house. The cart, unlike the wagon, had no wheels. It had an axle and a housing for some wheels, but unlike the 1800s wagon wheels, the early 20th Century axle on this cart had bearings, and they were frozen completely. Even if we had had some wheels, it would not have rolled. So we tied a chain around it and lifted it with the tractor.

The wagon being loaded onto the trailer. We placed it on the back right behind the wagon.

What am I going to do with these relics? Good question. I'm not entirely sure, but the ideas I've kicked around for the wagon would be a hay ride for the kids, perhaps. Or something like that. It was designed to be pulled by two horses, and I may have horses some day, but right now, I think a good four-wheeler could pull it. If it's empty, I bet I could tow it with our lawn mower. Although the tractor above belonged to the landowner, we have one almost identical to it. Perhaps I can use it.

The cart is a different story, since it won't roll. I may remove the old retrofit axle and turn it into a table or something. Another idea was to use it as a bed frame in the new house. It would probably fit a twin mattress very well.

I'll figure that one out later.