On the (Taber) Wagon

  Silas W. Taber was a blacksmith, building and repairing wagons and farm equipment in 1900, and then he had a better idea.
  The potato fields of Aroostook County weren't smooth.  They certainly weren't smooth enough to navigate with a wagon full of barrels of picked potato's; and Mr. Taber had a better idea.  And the Taber Wagon was born.


A loaded wagon on display at a farm in Caribou - click to enlarge
Photo: Aroostook County Historical and Art Museum via www.mainememory.net

  Mr. Taber designed a "dropped axle" that would allow the wagons to be easily loaded with the barrels and they were easier to navigate the fields.

The dropped axle, or crank axle the wagon sets on the lower part. - click to enlarge
Photo: Aroostook County Historical and Art Museum via www.mainememory.net

A newspaper ad for the wagon. - click to enlarge
Photo: Aroostook County Historical and Art Museum via www.mainememory.net