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Nebraska City's Steam Wagon · Nebraska History Podcast

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The following episode features a historic article from the
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Nebraska History magazine. This article may reflect the
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language and attitudes of its time and while it offers
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valuable insight into the past, may contend expressions or
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viewpoints that are outdated or offensive by today's standards.
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Any outdated terms do not reflect the current views or
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perspectives of the Nebraska State Historical Society.
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Welcome to the Nebraska History podcast.
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I'm your host, Chris Goforth. Each episode we explore articles
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written and published in Nebraska History Magazine.
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In July 1862, a noisy smoke belching machine known as the
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Prairie Motor rolled into Nebraska City.
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Though it's journey lasted only three miles before its fateful
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breakdown, it's a legacy would reshape the trails of the
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American West. On today's episode we discovered
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the story behind this 10 ton vehicle from the 1998 Nebraska
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History Magazine article Nebraska City's Steam Wagon
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written by William E Lass. Monday, July 14th, 1862 was a
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memorable day in the history of Nebraska City, NE.
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The Missouri River port which was then the nations leading
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overland freighting center. When a Steamboat arrived from
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downstream St. Joseph, MO, it carried on its
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deck a massive steam wagon. This noisy smoke belching
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machine was immediately run off the boat under its own power and
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steered about a mile northwestward from the levee,
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across a Rockford on South Table Creek and up the 6th St. hill to
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the Town Center. As the first self-propelled
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vehicle in Nebraska, which at the time was immersed with talk
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about the planned transcontinental railroad, the
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Steam wagon, or Prairie Motor as it was dubbed by the local
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press, attracted throngs of curious spectators who were
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delighted by its shrill whistle. The imposing machine, which
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weighed about 10 tons when it's 472 1/2 gallon water take was
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full, was powered by 410 horsepower oscillating engines
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and had rear wheels 10 feet 2 inches in diameter with rims 18
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inches wide and front wheels with a diameter of 6 feet.
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The water tank comprised most of its length, with upright boilers
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at the rear. The steering wheel, which was
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similar to that used on steamboats, was near the front
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ahead of the furnace. Accompanying the steam wagon on
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its long trip from New York City was a party of five men led by
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its proprietor, Joseph Renshaw Brown of Minnesota.
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The three men who drove the wagon were experienced railroad
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locomotive engineers, David L Osborne and Charles B Sloat,
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along with James Lawrence, the fireman.
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They all had worked previously for John A Reed, the machine's
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builder. The 5th man was Daniel
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Dangerfield, a black male nurse who was brought along to care
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for the 57 year old Brown who was suffering from Erasipolis, a
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painful, infectious skin rash. Although Brown was always
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somewhat of a mystery man in Nebraska City, he was a
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celebrity in Minnesota, where he had played a major role in the
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region's development. Brown entered Minnesota in 1820
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as a 15 year old Army musician at Fort Snelling, which had been
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established as the nation's northwestern most military post
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only a year before. After achieving the rank of
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Sergeant, he left the Army in 1825 to pursue the fur trade.
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While trading, he earned the distinction of being Minnesota's
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first wheat farmer and 1st exporter of log rafts.
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In 1840, he was instrumental in organizing St.
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Croix County, Wisconsin Territory, which as the first
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governmental unit in later Minnesota, included all of the
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land between the Saint Croix and Mississippi Rivers.
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As the first representative from Saint Croix County in the
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Wisconsin Territory Legislature, Brown succeeded in having his
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claim in Dakota. Present day Stillwater named the
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county seat as a power in Democratic Party politics.
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Brown dominated the Stillwater Convention in 1848, the meeting
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that stimulated the organization of Minnesota Territory the next
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year. During the brief territorial
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period of 1849 to 1858, he served as the first Clerk of the
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House of Representatives, a member of the council, and as
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territorial printer. He was generally credited with
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having led the way in codifying the territory's laws and in
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writing numerous important bills.
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Almost frenetically active outside of the Legislature, he
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edited the Saint Paul Pioneer, the territory's major Democratic
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newspaper, founded the community of Henderson in the newly opened
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Minnesota River Valley, and, while serving as the agent to
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the Dakota Indians, plotted to develop Dakota Territory with
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its capital at Sioux Falls, and to connect Minnesota and South
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Pass on the Oregon California Trail by a northern route.
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With a reputation for connivance, Brown, who was
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commonly called Joe the Juggler, was a frequent target of
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Republican critics who saw him as the best symbol of the old
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conservative Democratic Party. Although critics thought he was
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unscrupulous, Brown was also seen by contemporaries as hard
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working, enterprising, thoughtful, and extremely
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intelligent. His last major public role
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underscored his importance in 1857, while representing the
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Henderson area in Minnesota's highly contentious
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constitutional convention. He served on the committee that
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produced the final agreement on the state's constitution.
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After his close friend and former fellow fur trader Henry
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Hastings Sibley was chosen as the state's first governor,
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Brown was named a Major General in the state's militia.
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Despite his impressive background, Brown was almost
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universally regarded as a gadfly who's flitting from venture to
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venture precluded him from major financial successes.
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To friends and critics alike, the best evidence of his
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impractical side was his dream of revolutionizing overland
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transportation by using steam wagons.
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While the Prairie Motor was new to Nebraska's citizens, it was
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actually the second steam powered vehicle financed by
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Brown. Among his Henderson activities,
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Brown in 1856 started the Democrat, a typical booster ish
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frontier newspaper. Probably because of his
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newspaper career, Brown became acquainted with the Scientific
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American, a magazine devoted to promoting technology.
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It regularly carried reports about experiments with steam
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carriages and other vehicles in both England and the United
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States. Brown was certainly aware of
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this new technology by 1859 when the Hudson's Bay Company
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rerouted its freight shipments to Fort Gary, present day
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Winnipeg, MB Canada, from the Hudson Bay route through the
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Great Lakes and Saint Paul. Seeing an opportunity to
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participate in this business by replacing the traditionally used
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Red River carts with a steam wagon, Brown negotiated with
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Reed to have such a machine built in New York.
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Brown paid Reed $4000 to make the wagon, which was shipped
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partially assembled as far as Red Wing, MN on the Mississippi
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in 1859. It was finally unloaded from the
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Steamboat Eolian at Henderson on May 19th, 1860.
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Reed and Sloat traveled to Henderson to repair some broken
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and bent parts and completely assemble and then test the wagon
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whose wheels had a unique tricycle like arrangement with
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two rear driving wheels 8 feet in diameter and a three foot
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diameter front steering wheel. The driving wheels appear to be
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wheels within wheels because the actual 6 foot diameter driving
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wheel was connected by cog wheels and spokes to a broad
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metal rim a foot and a half wide that was intended to provide a
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firm surface so the geared wheel would never directly touch the
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ground. Assisted by Beers Johnstone, a
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mechanic in Brown's employment, Reed and Sloat made the Wagons
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inaugural run on July 4th, 1860, as part of Henderson's
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Independence Day celebration. It chugged up and down Main
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Street, carrying eager passengers to the loud cheers of
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a watchful crowd. While this performance seemed to
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satisfy many observers who were apparently willing to bet that
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it would not move at all, it did not satisfy Brown, Reed or Sloat
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because it moved too slowly. After weeks of work adjusting
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the gears, Reed and Sloat finally were able to achieve a
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speed of about 2 1/2 mph, about that of a mule drawn wagon and
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only slightly faster than ox drawn freight wagons.
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In the meantime, Brown, who had failed in his effort to
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transport Hudson's Bay Company goods, decided to send the wagon
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to Fort Ridgely, about 40 miles West.
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In tests, the machine was navigated up Fort Hill, the long
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incline leading from river bottom Henderson to the Prairie
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that stretched off to the West. Finally, in October, Mazumani,
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christened by Brown with a Dakota Indian name meaning
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walking iron, was started for the Fort with Johnstone in
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charge. After 28 frustrating days,
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replete with the necessity of building plank roads across
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sloughs, Johnstone and the Machine Less, a toad wagon that
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had to be abandoned in a mud hole, reached a Creek about four
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miles east of Fort Ridgely. There, the iron monster bogged
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down on the eve of the season's first heavy snow that drifted it
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in for the winter. It was still there when Brown
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arrived in Nebraska City with his second wagon.
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After their dismal experience with Mazumani, Brown and Reed
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concluded that their second wagon should be faster, lighter
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and have four wheels with the rear driving wheels running
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directly on the ground. According to Brown, the Nebraska
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City machine can move at 4 1/2 mph, but in Nebraska City it was
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reported to have speeded up to about 8 mph down steep Main
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Street. Present day Central Ave.
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The Nebraska City wagon purportedly had been tested
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successfully on hills in New Jersey before being shipped
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intact from New York City. Osborne recalled that it created
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a sensation in New York City where it's noisy run from the
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factory to the railroad depot, frightened horses and caused the
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mayor to ban any further daytime movement with it.
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Its five week passage from New York City to Nebraska City was
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by rail to Quincy, IL, and on Mississippi by way of Elizabeth,
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NJ, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, PA, then Chicago.
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From Quincy it was carried by Steamboat to Hannibal and from
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there across Missouri on the Hannibal and Saint Joseph
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Railroad. Brown's total cost to his
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arrival in Nebraska City, including $5950 for the wagon's
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construction, were $7583.62 Recognizing the need to Curry
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public favor, the congenial Brown grandly put on a steam
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wagon show for delighted Nebraska Citians.
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To demonstrate the newly repainted wagon's capability,
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Osborne, Sloat and Lawrence ran it across S Table Creek to
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Kearney Heights, the hilliest part of Nebraska City.
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After ascending Kearney Hill, present day Kearney Park, they
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maneuvered the machine through unbroken Prairie sod and brush
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copses for about half a mile. Later, with the Stars and
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stripes fluttering above the steam wagon, they gave rides
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around town to men, women and children in towed wagons.
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A good time was had by all, with the possible exception of David
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Jay Goff, whose straw hat was set on fire by a spark from the
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smokestack. After the rides, Brown, his
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crew, and some Nebraska City's principal citizens celebrated
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with a banquet in the Seymour House amidst animated
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conversation about the wagon's pending trip to Denver.
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Although neither Brown nor his steam wagon had really proven
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themselves in Nebraska City, they were enthusiastically
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supported by the town's two newspapers, the Democratic
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Oregon the News and the Republicans People's Press,
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which usually had difficulty agreeing on anything beyond the
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time of day. In Brown, the editors who had
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led the way in ballyhooing Nebraska City superiority as a
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Great Plains shipping point saw a new opportunity to promote
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their towns advantages. They had traditionally advocated
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improvement of their towns, much proclaimed Great Central Airline
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route to Fort Kearney on the Oregon California Trail, which
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was within a mile and a half of being due West of Nebraska City.
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Trail improvements was important to overland freighters,
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merchants and settlers between Nebraska City and the western
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edge of the settlement at Salt Creek near present day Lincoln.
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They correctly sensed that Brown's monstrous steam wagon
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would require a good Rd. Beyond the immediate goal of
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trail improvement, the editors naturally recognized that the
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Nebraska community that became the starting point of the
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projected Union Pacific Railroad would become the regional
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metropolis. When Brown appeared in Nebraska
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City, the railroad had been authorized, but it's eastern
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terminus had not yet been fixed. Thus, Brown was promoted as an
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endorsee of the proclaimed superiority of the Nebraska City
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route. W Brown, as a veteran journalist
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and politician, was certainly no stranger to promotion whose half
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truths and deceptions played on wishful thinking.
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To Nebraska Citians he was General Brown.
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He apparently liked the sound of the title.
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It is somewhat strange that with his numerous accomplishments he
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chose to be recognized by his rank in the Minnesota militia.
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But during the Civil War the title of general sounded
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important, especially without any accompanying explanation of
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Brown's real status as portrayed in the Nebraska City newspapers.
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General Brown's sagacity in choosing the great Central
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Airline route for his steam wagons run to Denver proved that
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it was the best possible one for the Union Pacific.
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Despite the near euphoria about Brown's pending great adventure,
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both newspapers tried to temper expectations.
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The people's press cautioned that a quick passage to the
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Rockies was unlikely because Brown was undertaking a trial
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trip to establish water and fuel stations and improve stream
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crossings. Subsequent trips with lighter
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wagons, the editor opined, would reach Denver from Nebraska City
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in only about four days. Hedging its bets, the News
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advised the citizenry to take the long range view by
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suggesting quote, the present machine may not be entirely
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successful. If it is not, its failure will
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not only prove the system of failure, it will instead
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demonstrate the problem of what is wanted to make it successful
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and lead to the adoption of new applications of the principal
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involved. End Quote.
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By the time the Steam Wagon expedition set out for distant
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Denver on July 22nd, the venture had really become a community
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enterprise. Joseph S Phoebus recalled that
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the merchants of Nebraska City vowed to show their support for
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the undertaking, that sending their best men and their wagons
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along. Phoebus, hired by Robert Hawk, a
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prominent merchant and freighter, even had the
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opportunity of briefly steering the steam wagon.
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The excitement over the wagons pending run carried along the
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trail all the way to Denver, where veteran freighter Eugene
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Munn recalled that the wagons anticipated arrival was the most
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popular topic of conversation along the trail.
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Munn and other freighters feared the puffing contraption would
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spook their animals. Mum need not worry.
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The wagons trip fell far short of expectations.
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When Osborne steered the wagon out of downtown Nebraska City,
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it was pulling 3 wagons. The largest was used as tender
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and the other two were loaded with a total of perhaps 4 tons
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of flour. Soon Osborne and his crew were
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troubled by foamy water being ejected from the boiler into the
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engines before it could be converted into steam.
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Reed later estimated that this problem reduced the wagons power
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by at least half. As Osborne guided the wagon past
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the northwest corner of J Sterling Morton's farm, Arbor
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Lodge, and out along the freighting Rd. it was unable to
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pull its train up the relatively gentle inclines.
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He was forced to run the steam wagon alone to the tops or
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downsides of slopes and then pull the wagons up with a long
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rope. This procedure certainly did not
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bode well for reaching Denver any faster than ordinary wagon
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trains, which usually took about 5 weeks.
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The Sistine Wagon's struggles ended abruptly when a crank on
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one of the engines broke only about 3 miles West of Morton's
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farm, which in turn was about a mile northwest of downtown.
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Without local repair facilities, Brown knew immediately that he
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had to have the part fixed by Reed in New York City.
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He was careful, however, not to rush quickly out of town.
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First, he had to secure vital community support.
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The town leaders, apparently undaunted by the breakdown,
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organized a community meeting on July 27th, 5 days after the
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wagon was halted. General Isaac Co, the district
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commander of the Nebraska militia and the partner of a
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leading freighting company, took charge after he called the
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meeting to order. John H Croxton, A territorial
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legislator and the attorney for Nebraska City, was elected
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chairman. The unspecified number of people
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attending the mass meeting expressed their satisfaction
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with the demonstrated performance of the steam wagon
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and affirmed their belief that it would bring their town within
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three days travel of Denver, about 535 miles away, Believing
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that Brown's plans would, quote, prove to be a great blessing to
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the traveling community and of untold advantage to the
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territory. End Quote.
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They unanimously approved a resolution asking that ODO
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County commissioners authorized the building of a public road to
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the county's western boundary. Brown, for his part, was
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expected to establish a regular steam wagon service to Denver,
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which would entail the building of an additional wagon.
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Before leaving Nebraska City, Brown regaled his audience with
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a detailed plan, a future steam wagon service that far exceeded
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the community's expectations. He would not only build an
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additional wagon, he promised, but he would in fact have 6 new
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ones built and also have the Nebraska City wagon repaired as
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well as renovated and move overland the abandoned Minnesota
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wagon. Brown intended to deliver the
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first new wagon to Nebraska City in October of 1862 and the
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second two months later, with the 6th and last to arrive in
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April of 1863. Brown pledge to provide winter
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time transportation in 1862 and 63 with the first two new
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wagons. Once his complete fleet of eight
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wagons was on hand, he said he would regularly run the six new
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wagons between Nebraska City and the mouth of the Cash Laputa
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River, only 35 miles from Denver, with the 2 old wagons
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providing Cash Laputa Denver service.
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Crown's projections were predicated on the assumption
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that he would be successfully organizing a steam wagon company
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that would attract major investors and show a profit of
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$300,000 by June 30th, 1863. He estimated the company's
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freight business to that time at 1200 tons, the equivalent of 600
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ox drawn wagons and not quite 1/3 of Nebraska City's annual
19:45
business. The outpouring of community
19:47
support and Brown's optimism about future business proved
19:51
that the Steam Wagon's short abortive run was not seen as a
19:55
failure, but rather a great success.
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The astute Brown evidently realized that all he had to do
20:02
in Nebraska City was demonstrate his wagon.
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Despite his self promotion, it is quite unlikely that Brown
20:09
ever intended to run the wagon all the way to Denver.
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He obviously knew that it was too heavy and lacked power.
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Furthermore, he had not established wood and water
20:19
stations along the trail with a machine that consumed a cord of
20:23
wood every four hours. Even with the towed fuel tender,
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he would have required extensive stockpiles.
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Nebraska Citians, well acquainted with the problems of
20:31
trail life, knew there was but scant limber in the 130 mile
20:36
stretch from Salt Creek to Fort Kearney.
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As for water, Brown's engineers, who had much difficulty
20:42
generating power in using the Muddy Waters of the Missouri,
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could hardly have seen better prospects in either the Platte
20:49
River or the alkali laden ponds West of Fort Kearney.
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Obviously, in order for the wagon to proceed in a timely
20:56
fashion, it would have been necessary to have numerous water
20:59
tanks along the trail because the wagons tank had to be
21:03
refilled after only about 3 1/2 to 4 hours of operation.
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Interestingly, in the plan that Brown elaborated after the mass
21:12
meeting, he meticulously showed estimated costs for wood and
21:16
water tanks. Leaving Nebraska City ends with
21:19
the promise of a rosy tomorrow. Brown went on to New York City
21:23
to have the crank repaired and make arrangements for the
21:26
construction of new wagons and for the organization of a steam
21:30
wagon company. All interested parties,
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including Osborne, Sloat and Lawrence, whom he left in
21:36
Nebraska City, assumed he would return soon.
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In New York, Brown and Reed agreed to become equal partners
21:42
in the planned steam wagon company.
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Their grand plan had everything but money.
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Essentially, Brown contributed an idea and Reed his mechanical
21:51
know how, but they needed to attract investors.
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Ultimately, the unwillingness of New York capitalists to fund
21:58
what appeared to be a bizarre scheme doomed the construction
22:02
of more steam wagons. Part of the steam wagon
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mythology includes the belief that Reed could not work on the
22:07
wagons because of his wartime commitments to a defense
22:11
contractor. There's also not much evidence
22:13
in the Brown Reed correspondence that supports that notion.
22:17
Rather, read for about a year after the Nebraska City trial,
22:20
enthusiastically worked with Brown to raise capital in New
22:23
York City, and never mentioned his other work as a deterrent.
22:27
Within a matter of days after reaching New York City, Brown
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realized that new lighter wagons could not be rapidly funded and
22:34
built, so he and Reed developed a contingency plan of first
22:39
repairing the Nebraska wagon and then completely renovating the
22:43
Minnesota wagon and by driving it overland to Nebraska City.
22:46
By November 1st of 1862, as Reed started working on the new
22:51
wheels, tank and other parts for the Minnesota wagon, Brown left
22:55
for home in the expectation that Reed would join him near Fort
22:58
Ridgely to make the necessary alterations on Mazomani.
23:02
But his plans were soon dashed. As Brown was traveling by
23:05
Steamboat up the Mississippi toward Saint Paul, he learned of
23:09
the outbreak of an Indian War in Minnesota.
23:12
On August 18th, 1862, some of the reservation Dakota attacked
23:17
the Lower Sioux Agency near present day Redwood Falls.
23:21
Brown's immediate concern was for the safety of his mixed
23:23
blood wife and children who were living at his recently
23:26
constructed stone house, Farther and Gay Castle, just across the
23:30
Minnesota River from the Indian Reservation.
23:33
Burying home, he overtook the army that was advancing from
23:36
Fort Snelling near Saint Paul to Fort Ridgely.
23:39
Brown was commissioned as a major in the force and added to
23:43
the staff of its commander, Henry Hastings Sibley.
23:46
Contrary to early reports of the deaths at hands of hostile
23:49
Indians, Brown's wife and children were taken prisoners
23:52
but later rescued. Brown's new house, however, was
23:56
destroyed. Brown subsequently served in the
23:59
Minnesota campaign against the Indians and in 1863 participated
24:03
in the Army's expedition into Dakota Territory.
24:07
From active campaigning, he moved to the position of
24:10
supervising the apprehension of fugitive Indians and organized a
24:14
union of pro white Dakota scouts based at Fort Wadsworth in
24:18
present day northeastern South Dakota.
24:21
After leaving the army in 1866, Brown organized a trading
24:24
company, Joseph R Brown and Sons, based at Lake Traverse,
24:28
Minnesota, which was renamed Brown's Valley in 1872 in his
24:32
honor. While trading in association
24:35
with some of his former Henderson partners, he extended
24:38
his operations to places as distant as Devil's Lake in
24:41
present day northeastern North Dakota.
24:44
Most of Brown's trade was with the Sisseton and Waipaedon bands
24:47
of the Dakota, who generally had not participated in the
24:51
Minnesota conflict. Brown, as their legal
24:54
representative, was instrumental in negotiating the creation of a
24:58
new reservation for them for about a year after the Minnesota
25:01
hostilities devastated his steam wagon scheme, Brown hoped to
25:05
renew the venture despite his lack of funds and the failure to
25:09
attract investors Through Reed, Osborne, and Sloat, he received
25:14
news from Nebraska City in September 1862.
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Osborne, Sloat, and Lawrence, who had the wagon running again,
25:21
thought Brown would soon rejoin them.
25:23
Not only did Brown not return, but he was extremely tardy and
25:27
corresponding with them and paying their monthly wages of
25:30
$50 each as well as their daily board bills of $0.50 each at the
25:35
Seymour House. After frequent pleas from
25:37
Osborne for money and instructions from Albert
25:40
Tuxbury, the proprietor of Seymour House, he reluctantly
25:43
met his obligations. Sloat left Nebraska City and
25:47
returned to New York City sometime early in 1863, but
25:51
Lawrence and Osborne stayed firm in their conviction that they
25:54
needed to continue to represent Brown's Nebraska interests.
25:59
Osborne became involved with the trail improvement matter.
26:03
Responding to the mass meetings resolution, the Oto County
26:06
Commissioners authorized the sale of $2500 worth of county
26:10
bonds to improve the freighting Rd. from Nebraska City to the
26:13
western boundary of Oto County, pending approval by voters in an
26:17
election. After a legal technicality in
26:19
publishing A timely notice precluded the road referendum
26:23
from being placed on the ballot for a regular general election
26:26
in the fall of 1862, the Commissioners authorized a
26:29
special election several months later.
26:32
Before the special election of December 29th, 1862, the
26:36
Commissioners began officially to refer the route as the Steam
26:39
Wagon Rd. and Commission Frederick C Morrison, an
26:43
experienced surveyor, to lay out its course.
26:46
Morrison completed his survey that fall.
26:49
No tally of the special election is exited, but Oto County's
26:52
voters overwhelmingly approved the bond issue, which was funded
26:56
by a special property tax of 1 mil per dollar of assessed
26:59
valuation. In mid March 1863, the County
27:03
Commissioners authorized Silas E Smith, the Oto County Treasurer,
27:07
to sell Steam Wagon Rd. bonds to raise the requisite $2500.
27:13
Smith sold $5050 bonds which were redeemable at face value no
27:17
later than January 1st, 1870. Until they were redeemed, the
27:22
bonds bore annual interest of 10%, payable in $2.50
27:26
installments on the first day of January and July beginning with
27:30
July 1st, 1863. When the commissioners approved
27:34
issuing the bonds, they also appointed William E Hill, a
27:38
Carpenter who had built a bridge over the Big Blue River on the
27:41
Fort Kearney route in 1861, as Rd.
27:43
Superintendent. Hill, assisted by Osborne among
27:47
others, promptly started trail improvement.
27:50
By early May his crew, which had nearly reached the western edge
27:53
of the county, had built six bridges.
27:56
As this work was being done, Osborne, evidently acting on
28:00
Brown's orders, reconnoitred the freighting Rd.
28:03
West of Oto County to the Big Blue River with the aim of
28:06
obtaining desirable timber and water sites for steam wagon
28:09
stations. Trail improvement in Oto County
28:13
was only part of Brown's goal. He also wanted territorial
28:16
support to better the road West of the county.
28:19
Osborne closely monitored the prospects for legislative
28:22
action, which was deferred until the lawmakers were convened in
28:26
1864. By a law approved on February
28:29
15th of 1864, the Territory Legislature named Hill, Osborne
28:34
and Anderson Davis of Seward County as commissioners to
28:38
locate a territorial Rd. westward from the western line
28:41
of Odo County to Walnut Creek in Seward County, where it would
28:45
intersect an existing territorial road to Fort
28:48
Kearney. The continuing presence and
28:50
activities of Lawrence and Osborne seem to assure Nebraska
28:54
Citians that Brown was on the verge of returning to resume his
28:58
steam wagon expedition when Brown's son, Samuel J, visited
29:02
Nebraska City in May of 1863 while serving as an interpreter
29:07
during the Steamboat transfer of Dakota Indians from Minnesota to
29:10
the upper Missouri, he talked with either Osborne or Lawrence
29:14
and also reported to his father that quote.
29:17
The people of Nebraska City are anxious to know when you are
29:20
going to make your appearance in this county.
29:23
End Quote. Some Nebraska Citians presume
29:26
that Brown would bring 6 or more wagons when he returned,
29:30
although he certainly knew better.
29:31
The younger Brown told the people of Nebraska City that his
29:34
father would probably be in Nebraska City by July or August
29:40
because of their correspondence with Reed.
29:42
Lawrence and Osborne knew that no new wagons were being built
29:46
and that Brown would not soon return to Nebraska City.
29:50
In disgust, Lawrence left Nebraska City in July of 1863 to
29:54
return to his wife in New York. However, the 35 year old
29:58
Osborne, who opened a blacksmith shop, stayed and never returned
30:02
to the east. He probably was chiefly
30:05
responsible for the steam wagon's last hurrah.
30:07
On July 4th, 1864, it was fired up and run from Morton's Farm to
30:12
a downtown parade. It soon broke down again and was
30:15
hauled back to Morton's place by horse.
30:18
In the 1870s, while living in Ashland and Lincoln, Osborne
30:22
displayed his mechanical ability by inventing a windmill and a
30:26
railroad grader. As time passed, with no
30:29
resumption of steam wagon activity, Brown lost most of his
30:34
promotional value to Nebraska City.
30:36
Even well before the December 2nd, 1863 announcement that
30:40
Omaha had won the Union Pacific Prize, the local press had
30:44
turned its attention from Brown to the Fort Kearney Trail.
30:47
The one great thing that proved Nebraska City excelled over the
30:51
hated Omaha and enduring legacy evolved from trail advertising.
30:56
In 1863, Nebraska City's newspapers, obviously influenced
31:00
by aspiration rather than accomplishment, started heavily
31:04
promoting the entire former Great Central Airline route to
31:08
Fort Kearney as the Steam Wagon Rd.
31:11
The new name, illustrative of people's fascination with what
31:14
had become their Steam Wagon, not only lasted to the end of
31:17
overland freighting in 1866, but endures as the name of a
31:21
Nebraska City street and the several miles of a County Road
31:25
leading from it to where the site of the wagon broke down.
31:29
Despite 2 failures, Brown persisted in his dream that
31:32
steam wagons could be significant in an increasingly
31:36
technological society. While trading at Lake Traverse,
31:40
he saw an opportunity to run wagons from a projected railroad
31:43
terminus on the Bois Desu River northward through the Red River
31:48
Valley to Winnipeg. In 1868, while initially
31:51
contemplating this plan, he traveled to Nebraska City to
31:55
inspect the abandoned wagon on Morton's farm.
31:58
After the two men examined the badly rusted vehicle, Brown
32:01
authorized Morton to sell it for him.
32:04
Morton was never able to find a buyer, and finally it was
32:07
dismantled in 1899. While representing the
32:10
Sissington and Wapiton in Washington, DC in 1869 and 1870,
32:15
Brown was paying Reed to build his third wagon, customarily
32:20
short of money. Brown paid Reed in installments,
32:23
and Reed worked on the project only after receiving a payment.
32:26
Thus, Brown's hopes to have a wagon running in the Red River
32:30
Valley by the fall of 1869 were not realized, and without a
32:34
completed wagon, he could not attract investors to his
32:37
proposed International Steam Wagon Company.
32:40
When Brown died suddenly in New York City on November 9th, 1870,
32:45
Reed and Brown's heirs were left with a partially completed steam
32:48
wagon and some vivid memories of a dreamer and schemer who has
32:53
continued to be an object of fascination in both Nebraska and
32:57
Minnesota to the present day. Visitors to Nebraska City will
33:00
soon notice the special niche the steam wagon has in the
33:04
city's history and lore. Reminders of it abound.
33:07
The prominently marked Steam Wagon Rd. is the most obvious.
33:11
Since 1914, a stone marker commemorating the steam wagon's
33:15
appearance has stood next to the now abandoned Chicago,
33:18
Burlington and Quincy railroad depot.
33:21
And since 1929, the site where the steam wagon broke down on
33:24
the Steam Wagon Rd., 2.8 miles West of Arbor Lodge, has been
33:28
marked by a metal tablet set in a large boulder.
33:32
The erection of the second monument was inspired mainly by
33:36
Edward S Gregg, Nebraska City's leading promoter in perpetuating
33:40
the steam wagon tradition. Greg's interest in the steam
33:44
Wagon dated at least from 1891, when he obtained a cylinder from
33:48
one of its engines from a Nebraska City foundry.
33:52
As the proud owner of this relic, Gregg researched the
33:55
wagon's history and came to be recognized as the local expert.
34:00
The cylinder was passed on to Greg's son, Stanton, whose
34:03
estate donated it to the Oto County Historical Society in
34:06
1993. In 1951, artist Frank Zimmerer,
34:10
a former Nebraska Citian, painted a steam wagon mural on
34:14
its interior wall of the Nebraska City News Press
34:17
building at 123 S 8th St. The mural is still in place, but
34:22
the site is now occupied by a coffee shop.
34:25
Nebraska City celebration of the steam wagon Centennial in 1962
34:29
featured a reenactment of the steam wagons run by a restored
34:33
steam tractor owner and driven by Lyman Knapp of Blackwell, OK
34:38
Naturally, Knapp's machine had a mock breakdown near the point of
34:41
where the steam wagon had been forced to stop.
34:45
Not surprisingly, outside of Nebraska City, the novelty of
34:48
steam wagon attracted the attention of the press, the
34:51
public, and the Nebraska State Historical Society.
34:55
Publicity was particularly intense when the Nebraska City
34:58
monuments were dedicated in 1914 and 1929.
35:02
Then another round of newspaper coverage was set off in 1932 by
35:06
NC Abbott's chance discovery of a second steam wagon relic.
35:11
After obtaining a 40 LB, three foot long part of the front axle
35:15
in Cass County, Abbott, a board member and former president of
35:19
the Nebraska State Historical Society, donated it to the
35:22
society. Clarence S Payne and Addison E
35:25
Sheldon, while each were serving as the director of the Nebraska
35:28
State Historical Society, collected steam wagon records.
35:32
Payne was also instrumental in having the Nebraska City Depot
35:36
marker erected, and Sheldon, in 1938, considered publishing a
35:40
book on the steam wagon in Minnesota.
35:43
Brown's place in the state's history as a frontier celebrity
35:47
is secure. Aspects of his career have been
35:50
covered in all of Minnesota's general histories, and he
35:53
remains the leading personage of Henderson's history.
35:56
In 1910, the state of Minnesota, using legislatively appropriated
36:00
funds, erected and dedicated a monument at Brown's grave in
36:04
Henderson. In 1992, the Minnesota
36:07
Legislature designated the old Sibley County Courthouse in
36:11
Henderson as the site of a proposed Joseph R Brown
36:14
Interpretive Center. The center was planned by the
36:17
Joseph R Brown Interpretive Center Task Force, which has
36:21
been succeeded by the Joseph R Brown Heritage Society.
36:25
Currently, the Society, with funding from the Legislative
36:28
Commission on Minnesota Resources, a Minnesota State
36:31
Bond Program grant, and the City of Henderson, is remodeling the
36:35
courthouse. The society intends to exhibit a
36:38
model of Brown's first steam wagon in the completed
36:41
Interpretive Center. Without question, it was Brown's
36:44
steam wagon experiments that distinguished him from his
36:47
contemporaries and elevated his historical stature.
36:51
Unusual things always command public attention.
36:54
The country's rich tradition of mechanical inventedness includes
36:58
a fascination with quaint, unworkable devices and machines.
37:02
Brown's colleagues respected him as an intelligent pragmatist,
37:06
but they were openly skeptical of his steam wagon schemes.
37:10
To them, he seemed to be uncharacteristically pursuing a
37:13
bizarre notion of transporting freight with a motor vehicle in
37:17
a roadless Prairie wilderness. Hence there was a certain
37:21
natural tendency to laugh at him while marveling at his presumed
37:25
ingenuity. The people who knew him best
37:27
never fathomed his serious dedication to the steam wagon
37:31
and never really understood his role.
37:34
Thus, the history of Brown's steam wagon in Nebraska City
37:37
contained an element of folklore from the start.
37:41
During his Nebraska City appearance, at the time of his
37:44
death, and in some later accounts, Brown was sometimes
37:47
credited with having invented the steam wagon.
37:51
Unfortunately, the myth of Brown as the steam wagon's inventor
37:54
has also been reinforced by the inscriptions on the Nebraska
37:58
City markers which identify him as the wagon's owner and
38:02
inventor. These erroneous designations
38:06
naturally leave the impression that this Minnesota
38:08
frontiersman, without benefit of mechanical training, was a
38:12
genius far ahead of his time. But the historical record is
38:16
clear. Brown was not an inventor, but a
38:20
planner and a promoter, and his steam wagon was very much a
38:24
creature of its day and certainly in keeping with the
38:28
Civil War era technology. Thank you for listening to the
38:32
Nebraska History Podcast. To learn more about Nebraska
38:34
History Magazine, to listen to more podcast episodes, or to
38:37
support our podcast by becoming a member of the Nebraska State
38:40
Historical Society, go to history.nebraska.gov/podcast.
38:44
And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and get notified
38:47
when we release a new episode every other Thursday on your
38:50
favorite podcast platform. Until next time, I'm Chris
38:54
Goforth.