The first one-horse wagon I owned was a John Deere. With single sideboards, petite hubs, a condensed box size and high, narrow wheels, it wasn’t just a well-balanced and light weight piece of functional art but an equally strong vehicle - ready to take on a host of jobs from the farm, ranch or business it would have supported during the first part of the twentieth century.
Built on a smaller scale, one horse wagons like this and even their smaller ‘pony wagon’ cousins share a similar look and design structure with full-size farm wagons. That said, they’re typically a less common sight and, as such, it’s harder to locate and review survivors from the thousands of brands built during the 18 and 1900’s. Recently, we received several images of a Mitchell brand one-horse wagon.
With roots dating to the early 1830’s, Mitchell carries a strong western heritage. The founder, Henry Mitchell, was born in Scotland and immigrated to America in 1834. Almost immediately after his arrival in the U.S., Mr. Mitchell began building vehicles. From emigrants traveling the plains and early farming on the frontier to the storied work of chuck wagons and heavy western freighters, the Mitchell name carries a legendary legacy.