Studebaker had a long and interesting history. The company was more than the cars and trucks we all enjoy driving and tinkering with though… Studebaker was diversified toward the end adding a variety of companies under it's corporate belt. There was machinery, cleaning equipment, mowers, generators, an airline and more right up to the blossoming space industry. However diversity was not new to Studebaker.
In the early days they were well known for making farm wagons but they also make buggies of all types, hearses, street sprinklers, military wagons and even the harness used on the horses.
It was the sturdy farm wagon that helped build the company into the transportation giant it was in the late 1800s. To a farmer in the 19th century a good wagon was every bit as important as a pick up truck is today. Studebaker built thousands of these wagons well into the 20th century. Built for rugged work and terrain the familiar green wagons with their red and yellow trim became a moving advertisement in all areas of the United States.
In Kokomo Indiana, a Studebaker agency challenged a Webster wagon agency by the remark that the Webster wagons were poor haulers because the spokes of their wheels were made of Ash. That set the spark and the Webster dealer remarked that the Webster would haul a heavier load no matter what the final weight. The Studebaker dealer agreed to a contest in the public square.
It was a Saturday afternoon and the Webster wagon was piled with 258 bushels of wheat and the mules hauled the load without a mishap. Studebaker jumped the load to 272 bushels, but halfway around the square one of the spokes in a rear wheel cracked. The Webster dealer smiled gleefully although the Studebaker wagon was able to continue around the course.
It appeared, amidst all the betting from the onlookers, that the Webster had won but the Studebaker dealer did not feel it had been knocked out of the contest yet. The Webster wagon's load was increased to 280 bushels. The mules could haul the load only a short distance but thew wagon held the weight. Undaunted the Studebaker crew tallied a load of 314 bushels. Webster jumped the load to 321 bushels, but on making a turn to the right the weight proved too much for the wagon and the front axle cracked in the center, but the iron trusses, braces and supports held the load.
The Studebaker dealer claimed honors for his wagon but the Webster dealer would not concede. He called for more wheat. None was left so flaxseed was used. And so it went on. Finally the Studebaker wagon carried a weight of 21,025 pounds and the mules hauled the load 25 feet. At that time the judges had declared the contest finished. The Studebaker had only suffered a cracked spoke. The Webster suffered small breaks in the front axle, the sand bar, in three of the cast iron truss rods and the rear axle. If nothing else the contest did prove the tough competition among wagon manufacturers of the time.
The story of the wagon contest was told in "Wagons by Studebaker" by Anthony A. Amarai in the Summer 1968 issue of Old West magazine.
