One view of the wagon building, completed by RPG Construction of Pendleton.

One view of the wagon building, completed by RPG Construction of Pendleton.

One view of the wagon building, completed by RPG Construction of Pendleton.

One view of the wagon building, completed by RPG Construction of Pendleton.

The new building to display the Rogers wagon is planned for the east side of the trail that runs south between the log cabin and restroom building in the photo above. The site is to the right of the cabin in this photo.

Times-Post file

PENDLETON — People who own a nice set of wheels often strive to protect their prized possession, while still taking it out to be enjoyed and appreciated.
That’s the idea behind a new effort to build a structure at Falls Park to display a wagon — along with other artifacts — with historical significance to Pendleton.
“I want to get that wagon out of storage and get it on display,” said Jay Brown, who salvaged and led the restoration of the horse-drawn vehicle several years ago.
The wagon, Brown said, was owned by John Rogers, the first white settler in Madison County.
“The Rogers family obviously purchased it in Pennsylvania, and they used it on their farm, or whatever they had out there. But that is the wagon that came to Pendleton Dec. 29 of 1818, with John Rogers at the helm.”

Brown is working on the building project — which is in fundraising mode — with many of the same people who relocated and restored a log cabin next to the pond at the north entrance of the park. The cabin was completed last spring, when it was celebrated with a dedication ceremony.
The new wagon structure will sit south of the cabin along the east side of the nearby walking trail.
It will measure 12 feet wide, 24 feet long and more than 18 feet tall at the roof peak. It will have two 4-by-8-foot windows on each of the two long sides. From the outside, it will look much like a smaller version of the nearby red barn that’s used for special events.
Then inside, “I’ve got what are called scissor trusses, and that’s the type that angled — it’ll be like a cathedral ceiling.
“That will allow for the height of the wagon to be fully assembled.
“Then we hope to take some of these logs that were left over from the log cabin, and I’ll cut planks off of those and we will line the inside of it with the logs — log pieces — and then chink them and everything, so it looks like on the inside like a log structure. So that’ll help tie into the log cabin also.
It will also be well-ventilated to avoid mold or mildew problems, and will be in full view of the security cameras that were installed to keep watch on the cabin.
The wagon, which now belongs to Pendleton Historical Museum, won’t be the only thing inside, Brown said.
“In this permanent display will also be other items that belong, let’s say, with the wagon,” he said. “Like maybe some of the tools that would have been carried on the wagon. Some of the items that would have been in the wagon.
“And also I was hoping to be able to get some other agricultural artifacts to put in the front of the wagon and behind the wagon to display them also. So it won’t be just the wagon on display. There will be other items in there also.”
The wagon building project is a collaboration involving Historic Fall Creek-Pendleton Settlement, Pendleton-Fall Creek Board of Parks and Recreation, and the museum.
Brown is working on the contruction with a team that includes Dave Hinchman, Donnie Meyer, Steve Wills and Alex Pritchard.
He said the construction team works under the direction of another group — still known as the Log Cabin Committee — that includes Brown as well as Leigh Berline, Sandi Butler, Lauretta Gray, Jeanette Isbell and Steve Wills.
Gray, who is on the park board, said she likes the project.
“I am very pleased. … it puts another aspect to that log cabin project, and having it down there, it’s an appropriate place, you see the log cabin, you see how people lived, then you get to see how they got to where they were finally going to live.
She said the restoration of the wagon was a real success story, and its proper display is “one of those enhancements that’s going to help the park.
“With the community growing like it is, I think we’re seeing that there are so many things that we can do and need to do. And the park is on move to improve a number of things, in a number of aspects, both historical and appealing to the young people, the kids, with the new playground. There’s just a lot going on. I’m very proud of what we’ve done and more importantly of what we’re going to do with the park. I’m a real backer of the park.”
Brown said the cabin and the wagon building are parts of a larger vision.
“We, I and our group, we call that the historical trail. And we hope to develop that into a historical trail that starts at the museum and ends at the cabin, and along that we hope to have historical information and things like that.”
The total cost of the wagon building is expected to be about $30,000, which is just for materials, Brown said.
As with the cabin, all labor will be donated, he said.
The group will seek grants and corporate donations, Brown said.
But he expects it’ll be like with the cabin, when “individual donations carried it through.”
South Madison Communty Foundation is handling all donations, Browns said. “They do all the accounting for us and keep everything straight.”
Brown said the project addresses the real need to protect the wagon and the desire to share it more with the public.
“It’s currently being stored in a building where I have to … take the top off in order to roll the wagon in, and every time I have to take it apart and then put it back together, it’s splintering little pieces of the bed away where these hoops go, because it’s very fragile. This wagon is very fragile, because it’s 200 years old, you know, over 200 years old. And it’s just fragile.”
Construction on the building will begin after fundraising is complete, Brown said. “We have to have all the money raised before we can start assembly, per the park.”
At that point, “we can get this thing done quickly.”
To donate, contact the community foundation at 765-778-8444 or [email protected].