This past week, a buddy gave me a shout to see a vintage Weber farm wagon recovered from an uncle’s barn. I guess you can say it’s a true barn find in every sense of the word.

I was amazed at the condition of the wagon, considering its age. Another interesting bit of trivia is that my Grandfather, William Crawford, and his brothers, my Uncles, George, Norm, and Walt, had worked on this farm back in the early 1900’s and probably had used this wagon as they helped their neighbor on occasion, as he would help us on our family farm.

Weber farm wagons were some of the high end quality pieces of equipment farmers of the day could own and were built to last. Needless to say the manufacturing techniques and materials used back then are the reason this one has stood the test of time.

Henry Weber was born in Hochweiler, Alsase, France in 1822. At this time, the area was still part of Germany. In 1841, eighteen year old Henry came to America and became indentured to a wagon maker in Lyons, NY.
After three years, Henry drifted over to Detroit, later moving on to Chicago, finding employment in 1844, in an established wagon shop. Being a true entrepreneur, he saved and with a nest egg of $250, opened his own wagon making business with a partner, Jacob Gauch. When the California gold rush of 1849 called, Jacob sold his share of the business to Henry, making Henry the sole proprietor.

Henry was hard working and produced a quality product. By 1858, his small business venture was growing rapidly and started expanding due to an increased demand. This resulted in abandoning the original shop and purchasing a larger, new, four story brick building.

Sadly, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, decimated Chicago, but Henry’s newer, brick building survived!

Continuing to grow, Henry incorporated his business in 1883. While he survived the Great Chicago Fire, in 1887, the new shop caught fire and practically all was lost except for his inventory of lumber.

This setback was just that, a setback. Henry rebuilt and by the end of the 1800’s his shop was producing 16,000 wagons and bobsleds annually. This success led to the enterprise being purchased by International Harvester Corporation in 1904. Henry left us in 1907, for that big wagon shop in the sky, but the business he began continued making wagons until the late 1930’s.

I couldn’t locate the exact image of the Model B wagon, however, the Wisconsin Historical Society does provide some images and information for those of you wishing to further enhance your knowledge. Check it out.

From what I can observe in this survivor from another century, I believe the original steel wheels were replaced with pneumatic tires. I know we did this on our farm. The reason? The wider, rubber tires rode better, and more often than not, the old dirt roads were giving way to paved surfaces. I know we had replaced the steel wheels on some of our equipment, one of which was a sickle bar mower which was towed behind our Ford 8N tractor when my father and I mowed hay fields. Guess where I sat.

Also, on this antique, the tongue has been modified to allow it to be hitched to a drawbar on a tractor. I’m not sure if this wagon was designed for a single or double horse setup. Maybe, if the evener is located we’d know.
Lastly, the buckboard, if there was one, and the front and back sideboards are missing. The standard, green Weber paint is still magnificent as is the logo on both sides and the Model B lettering. Interestingly, these wagons today command rather lucrative prices on the market. Maybe you have one hidden away as well.