A couple of weeks ago I shared with you a look at transportation
in this area 100 years ago. I recently had a question about an
early industry here in the Ute Pass area that borders on that
story.
In every town from Manitou Springs to Florissant, the busiest
place in town was the blacksmith shop. The blacksmith was probably
busy making parts for construction of all kinds of wagons. You
could go to Colorado Springs and buy a nice wagon built there or
you could get one built back east but the ones built right here
were just as good.
The lumber came from our own lumber yards, except that some
wagons used eastern woods like ash and oak, which could be ordered
through the lumber yard. Many locally built wagons were made with
local timber.
Many a family had a wagon and some had fine carriages but only a
well-to-do family had a buggy. Most of these were not locally built
vehicles but came from Pueblo, Colorado Springs or Denver. A few
were even ordered out of catalogs, such as Sears, and delivered by
train.
Many blacksmiths had arrangements with local craftsmen to build
wagons that were used on the farms. The woodworking was done in one
shop and the blacksmith made the metal parts. A few places made
only wheels. These, too, could be ordered out of a catalog. As with
today’s tires, wagon wheels needed regular service and replacement.
A wheelwright often had a stack of old wheels that might have a few
more miles in them because, as with today’s automobile owners, many
wagon owners changed all four wheels at that same time. Many wagons
had different sized wheels in the front and back so tire rotation
was something they never heard of.
The blacksmith also made parts for the wheels, such as a rim or
tire. The wheelwright took care of the spokes and hubs. Building
one wagon, which took a week or so, usually involved five or six
men in several different shops.
Some of these old rigs still can be seen resting in tall weeds
near an old building. You might wonder, sometime, about where it
came from and how many years it worked or how many hills it had
been over. Rarely do these old wagons have a manufacturer’s name on
them but sometimes they might have brands on them like old
cows.