From old to new, Wyomingites restore historical artifacts

 

SHERIDAN — Somewhere between the lonely sheep herder and the tourist who books an Airbnb on a whim lies the mystery of the sheep wagon.

For more than a century, these unique wagons have filled the most rural areas of Wyoming, from the unfenced, open range to national forests, cementing their place in the western history. Today, some are restored to their original glory, some are made to be works of art and others are built with a modern user in mind. The story of the sheep wagon begins almost 150 years ago in Rawlins or Douglas — depending on who you ask.

“Sheep wagons were invented in Wyoming in 1884 by a blacksmith that was either in Rawlins or Douglas,” Leslie Hamilton of Hamilton Forge in Dubois said. “I like the guy in Rawlins. His name was James Candlish, and I think that is probably where they came from. They were just a standard wagon but they put a bed across it, and it had a fabricated stove in it so the person wouldn’t freeze to death in the wintertime.”

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