Sheep wagon is a type of mobile dwelling used by sheepherders in the Intermountain West of the United States. It was designed to provide living quarters for a herder accompanying a flock of sheep on the open range. A typical sheep wagon incorporated a bed, a cast-iron wood stove, storage, and a work space into a compact wagon body. The type became particularly associated with Wyoming, where it was widely used during the expansion of the state's sheep industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sheep wagons were a response to the requirements of open-range sheep husbandry. Unlike cattle, sheep required close supervision and protection from predators, storms, disease, and other hazards. A herder therefore accompanied the flock as it moved between grazing areas. Tents were initially used as mobile shelters, but during the 1880s and 1890s the sheep wagon became common on the range
History
Development in Wyoming Sheep were introduced into Wyoming in the late 1860s, and the state's sheep industry expanded rapidly during the following decades. Because sheep could not simply be released on the open range without supervision, herders followed the flocks as they moved in response to available forage. The distances involved made a fixed cabin impractical, while an ordinary emigrant wagon did not provide suitable long-term accommodation. Mobile sheep camps therefore developed as an integral part of the range-sheep system. The earliest mobile camps consisted principally of tents and improvised wagons. During the 1880s and 1890s, purpose-built sheep wagons came into common use in Wyoming. The Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office describes the sheep wagon as a covered wagon equipped with a bed, table, storage for cooking supplies, and often a stove. The origin of the specialized sheep wagon is disputed. James Candlish, a blacksmith in Rawlins, Wyoming, is commonly credited with building the first "authentic" sheep wagon in 1884, reportedly from an idea supplied by sheepman George Ferris. This attribution appears in later Wyoming historical accounts and in National Register documentation. Other accounts, however, attribute the development of the early sheep wagon to blacksmiths elsewhere in Wyoming, including Kemmerer and the Cokeville area. The University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center consequently describes the origin as debatable. Candlish's Rawlins association nevertheless became an important part of the historical tradition surrounding the sheep wagon. According to Agnes Wright Spring, approximately eighteen years after the first Candlish wagon was put into use, the Schulte Hardware Company of Casper, Wyoming, employed Marshall Buxton to manufacture sheep wagons. The wagons used special "mountain gear" manufactured by the Bayne Wagon Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Early documentation Sheep wagons were established features of the western sheep industry by the early 20th century. Will C. Barnes's Western Grazing Grounds and Forest Ranges, first published in 1913, included an illustration captioned "A Sheep Wagon or Camp on Wheels in Wyoming" and a separate illustration of an Arizona sheep wagon. An official publication describing Wyoming's resources likewise recorded the use of sheep wagons. It stated that sheepmen could move with their flocks and, during winter, live in a sheep wagon equipped with a spring bed, stove, and kitchen equipment. By the early 20th century, commercial manufacture had developed alongside local blacksmith construction. Companies including Schulte Hardware of Casper and manufacturers outside Wyoming produced sheep wagons for ranchers. Wealthier sheep operators could order wagons from established wagon manufacturers, while local builders continued to construct and repair them.
Design The traditional sheep wagon was essentially a small house mounted on a wagon chassis. Its design was intended to make maximum use of a very limited interior space while remaining sufficiently light and durable to be moved across unimproved range country. A typical Wyoming sheep wagon was approximately 12 feet (3.7 m) long and about 6.5 feet (2.0 m) wide or high, depending on the particular design and measurement used. The University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center describes a typical wagon as 12 feet long and 6.5 feet high. The traditional wagon had a wooden body and a curved canvas roof supported by wooden bows. Blanket material or other insulation was placed within the structure. A built-in bed extended across the rear of the wagon. Beneath or near the bed was storage and a table that could be pulled out or otherwise folded into the living area. A small wood- or coal-burning stove, generally fitted with an oven, provided both heat and cooking facilities. A kerosene lantern provided illumination. The wagon also incorporated storage designed specifically for life on the range. Food, cooking utensils, clothing, tools, and other necessities were stored in cupboards, boxes, drawers, and compartments. Exterior "grub boxes" could be mounted between the front and rear wheels. The result was a compact dwelling that served simultaneously as bedroom, kitchen, storage room, and shelter. The design allowed a solitary herder to remain with a flock for extended periods without access to a permanent building.
Use on the range A sheep wagon formed the living quarters of a herder in a mobile sheep camp. The wagon could be moved when the flock moved to new grazing grounds. A camp tender using a team of horses could supply the wagon with food and other necessities and transport hay for the herder's horses. The wagon was therefore part of a larger system of mobile sheep husbandry. Wyoming sheep operations commonly moved flocks between winter and summer ranges, sometimes over distances of 100 miles (160 km) or more. Individual herders also moved their bands daily so that the sheep did not overgraze a particular area and could obtain adequate food and water. The sheep wagon was generally used where the terrain permitted a wagon to reach the sheep camp. At higher elevations and in other areas inaccessible to wagons, tents continued to be used as mobile shelters. The isolated life of the herder was a characteristic feature of the system. A single herder might be responsible for a large band of sheep, living in the wagon for weeks or months while tending the flock. The sheep wagon consequently became closely associated with the occupational and cultural history of Western sheepherding.
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