”Another Wagon for Brother Brigham“
30 X 40 Oil
“Every hundred have established one or more wagon shops; wheelwrights, carpenters
and cabinetmakers are nearly all foremen
wagon makers and many not mechanics are at work in every part of town preparing timber
for making wagons,
... nearly every shop in town is employed in making wagons.”
Brigham Young
By the fall of 1845 the reality of the looming exodus was evident throughout Nauvoo.
Even as buildings were being completed and trees still planted, a whole new industry
arose,
wagon construction. For many builders, the last wagon constructed would be their
own.
Painted as a commission for a private collector, David used the existing Webb Blacksmith
and Wagon Shop ashis model.
The Webb Wagon and Blacksmith Shop was originally opened in 1843 by the five Webb
brothers
who ran their enterprise until they departed for the
Rocky Mountains in September of 1846.
Private Collection