A typical prairie schooner of the late 1800s, this wagon was the kind pioneers used as they traveled west. Found in Iowa as a barn find and restored by the Hansen Wheel and Wagon Shop in Letcher, South Dakota, it appears from its wear to have been used for only about ten years, leaving it in good condition for its age. It is assembled from three parts: a wagon box made in Rock Island, Illinois; a driver's seat made by the Deere and Webber Company; and a replacement set of axles and wheels by the Bain Wagon Company instead of the originals. The wagon box was painted green with gold trim, while the axles and wheels were painted orange, colors common in that era. Laura Ingalls Wilder, in her Little House books, retold her family's travels across the western frontier between 1868 and 1879 in search of new opportunities and bountiful land, recalling a spring journey with Pa driving, Ma holding Baby Carrie, Laura and Mary riding behind, and the family happy as they moved through the woods.