Off The Beaten Path

• May 19, 2008 3:40 pm US/Pacific
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  Off The Beaten Path: Wagon Collection

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Off The Beaten Path: Wagon Collection

ANGELS CAMP (CBS13) ― If the price of gasoline has you stunned, you may want to remember how your relatives got around. I say there's a collection in Angels Camp that's an eye opener.

If your relatives came here in the early days, they likely traveled by wagon. Once here, they may have built their own wagons or bought special purpose rigs. When they had it made, maybe they splurged on a family carriage. And when they died they went on a hearse like this pulled by a team draped in black. Today all of those wagons are on display here in Angels Camp.

"This is the best collection of carriages west of the Mississippi as far as a quality and quantity," says Bob Rogers.

Bob Rogers is curator of this ever growing collection. He says this handmade wagon was crude but effective.

"When they got to the sides, they just took branches and took the bark off so it wouldn't rot and you just don't see this type of wagon around anymore," says Bob.

Here's a factory built Studebaker wagon for those who could afford the best. This buggy was crafted from the box in which a piano was shipped. Nothing here was wasted. When steel was scarce, a substitution was made.

"See the suspension on this wagon right here? It's leather straps and that's what they would use on stage coaches," Bob said.

Early wagon builders were innovators. This carriage light has a red warning lens in the back. When this logging wagon needed a new wheel, a slice out of a big tree worked just fine. Even that gets the youngest visitors interested.

Here's an early freight wagon from the area. And many of the tools used on those wagons have also been saved.

One thing about being out here in ranch country is there are a lot of these wagons still left.

Locals are donating more and more to this growing junkyard that will be used in restoring or recreating important wagons. This Studebaker tender has been added to the collection.

"This is a wonderful example of a restored water wagon that would use at a construction site to keep the dust down," says Bob.

So if the high price of gas has got you down, stop by the wagon collection and see how your ancestors got from here to there with the real horsepower.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)