Accident Led To Custom Sheep-Wagon Business

Accident Led To Custom Sheep-Wagon Business When an industrial accident left George Clark in a wheelchair 17 years ago, he set out to create a future filled with hope and purpose rather than inactivity and depression. Clark discovered his purpose at a draft-horse sale in Colorado, where he saw a sheep wagon sell for $15,000 at auction. Not long after that sale, Clark and his wife, Lori, started their Wyoming Sheep Wagon Company in Buffalo, Wyo. After adopting the company slogan — “Building the Future, Preserving the Past” — the couple hasn’t looked back. Sheep wagons are compact, mobile cabins invented in the 1880s for shepherds in the American West. They allowed shepherds to live on the open range for months at a time while tending their flocks. Clark’s first sheep wagon was built on the running gear of an old draft-horse cart. To get started, he recorded measurements of a sheep wagon at a nearby museum in Buffalo. He uses lodgepole pine lumber from the nearby Big Horn Mountains to build them. The lumber is milled, planed and kiln-dried on-site. Most of the wagons Clark has built are 10 ft or 12 ft long and sell for $20,000 to $30,000. His latest model will be 20 ft long and will feature a king-size bed, side-opening doors, a wood stove with a front-exit chimney, solar panels for electricity, a deluxe chuck box mounted on the back of the wagon, and a wheelchair lift scavenged from an old school bus. All of Clark’s wagons are covered with sailboat canvas, which withstands severe hailstorms common in the West. Although the Clarks have sold many wagons to sheep farmers in Wyoming and nearby states, they’ve also identified emerging market niches, including agrotourism, hunting camps, Airbnb rentals, family celebrations, and even “glamping” — a style of camping that blends the adventure and nature of traditional camping with the modern amenities and comforts of a luxury hotel. Past wagon buyers include the governor of Wyoming, several museums, and even hotel owners who offer the novel option of overnight stays in a sheep wagon. The company employs a full-time shop manager, but Clark is hands-on during construction despite being confined to a wheelchair. “I’m Scotch-Irish and I’m stubborn,” he says. “I knew I couldn’t just sit and watch somebody else have all the fun working on the wagons. So I designed and built a wheelchair platform measuring 40 in. high by 4 ft wide by 10 ft long, with a 24-in. wide by 10-ft expanded-metal ramp. My scissor-lift wheelchair allows me to work even at the top of a wagon.” Asked how he gets new business, Clark says word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising. “The sheep farmers all know each other, and they often work together, so if one of them likes our wagons, the rest of them call us when it’s time for a new wagon.” He adds that the color photos of sheep wagons on the website are helpful for discussing wagon features and options with customers before they build their wagon. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wyoming Sheep Wagon Co., P.O. Box 668, Buffalo, Wyo. 82834 (ph 307-620-0996 or 307-670-1720; clarkgl55@yahoo.com; www.wyomingsheepwagonco.com).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.