Thoughts on the Lindsey Wagon Company

Loranger Old Farmer's Day 2004

8 Wheel Log Wagon Index

Chronicle Story about the Lindsey Wagon

Belize Mahogany Loggers

Eyles Letter of 1936

Eyles Order of 1936

Request for Quote by Grimes

Financial Information

Instructions for Hub Caps on Wagons

Wagon Company Payroll - 1910

W.H. Burton Hours and Tasks -- May 1913

Payroll 1914

Wagon Company Payroll - 1932

Wagon Company Salaries

Wagons Shipped April 1922

Wagons Shipped October 1922

Wagons Shipped 1929

Rise and Fall

Lindsey Wagon History

Graysonia Memories

Wagon Pictures

Busy Body and Shays

Lindsey Wagon Co. 1940 Brochure

Wagon/Skidder Testimonials Index

Lindsey Wagon - 1964

Loading a Log Wagon

Loading a Skidder

Wagon Patent Info

Lindsey Lumber Company

San Augustine Lbr. Co. & Lindsey Wagon

Logging Index

This is an editorial by me, Sam Lindsey III, on the history of the Lindsey Wagon Company.  Based on some facts and some family lore, I want to give the reader a "broad-brush" view of the company's history. Also, the hyperlinks on this page open new windows; I did this so the reader could see additional information without losing the thread of the story.

John Lindsey was a lumberman in Sandersville, Mississippi in the 1890's.  In order to move logs to his mill, he tried a many types of transportation.  He had a wood-rail Shay to bring the logs from some gathering points to the mill; but how to get the logs from where they were cut to the gathering points?  A conventional method, at that time, was to either drag the logs with teams of mules, horses, or oxen, put the logs on a farm wagon (4 relatively large wheels with small rims), or run the rail line to every point where the logs were cut.

John's problem was exacerbated by the fact that a great deal of the ground in South Mississippi  is very soggy most of the year.  Rolling is not a term usually used to describe the landscape around Sandersville/Laurel; mostly flat would be a more apt description.  Couple this with the rainfall and the poor drainage and you have a recipe for problems with heavy loads off road.

Necessity is the mother of invention; and John invented two methods of gathering his logs -- the Eight Wheel Log Wagon and the Self-Loading Skidder.  As is almost always the case, the inventive mind did not come up with the "ideal" solution immediately.  The earliest photo I have of the wagon has wheels made of wood.

We are now about 1900.  The Lindsey Wagon has been transformed into a manufacturable product (through the efforts of S. W. Lindsey.

Between 1900 and 1915, internal combustion engines started to play a part in society with cars, trucks, and even tracked vehicles becoming available.  However, they were all capital intensive (expensive to buy and maintain); and in the more rural areas of the U.S. and the world, they were not affordable.  Reliability was another factor hampering the use of these vehicles at this time.

Then came World War I.  If you have seen any of the documentaries and/or films of WWI, you should have noticed the huge amount of wood that was used to make the bunkers (not to mention repairing them).  Also, you saw the mud and torn-up ground the soldiers (and their supplies) had to traverse.  It turns out that the Eight-Wheel Log Wagon was a great candidate for the war effort.  It was designed to traverse such ground.  I have a picture (which I am trying to find) of a string of wagons in Europe hauling logs for the front.  By the way, they were being pulled by a tracked vehicle.  The Company received a commendation for its contribution to the war effort.

Between WWI and WWII, there was significant  improvement in the reliability, flexibility, and cost of internal combustion vehicles.  However, there was still a great demand for the Wagon because of the capital requirements.  Think about it this way:  You live in a rural area; you have a family; a lot of your food you grow; you work for a logging company part of the year and part of the year you farm.  The oxen/mule you use to pull the wagon can be used to pull the plow/farm wagon.  Besides, the manure can fertilize the fields.  Add to this, you are really not making enough money to purchase anything else. Finally, there was a depression that made almost anything that did not contribute to your subsistence unnecessary.

During the inter-War period, the Company exported its products to Central America countries.  With an office in Belize, it was marketed throughout Central America.   Note the similarities between 1900 South Mississippi and Central America in the 1930's -- both had unimproved transportation systems, both were poor, both had poor land for off-road movement.  This market was important not only to the Company, but also to the U.S. Government because the mahogany wood used to make PT boats (among other things) was harvested in Central America and transported to gathering spots by the Lindsey Eight Wheel Log Wagon.

World War II saw the revolution of the internal combustion engine.  There was the Jeep that could go anywhere and carry a load reliably.  There was the massive improvement in tracked vehicles that made them reliable and useful.  There was the development of heavy trucks that could haul loads almost anywhere.  The days of the Eight Wheel Log Wagon were clearly numbered.

So what happened?  With the knowledge of the logging industry around the world, with the knowledge of manufacturing a product, and with the capital it had accumulated over the years, why did the company fade into oblivion?  This is not a real case-study, just thoughts.

The company had a variety of options.  They could have developed a log trailer to be used by wheeled vehicles.  They did, but apparently it did not prove to be very successful.  They could have adapted the wood and steel wheels and made a pneumatic model. They did, but this too faded for some reason. 

They could have gone an entirely different way and built recreational vehicles.  Actually, Sam Lindsey, Sr. did have two built for his personal use.  But they never went into the manufacture and promotion of the possible product.

What probably happened to the Company was that the people who ran it became involved in other pursuits.  Sam Lindsey, Sr. was the President of the Company, Vice President of the Commercial National Bank, Vice President of Laurel Federal Savings and Loan, and built subdivisions.  While a recipe for community involvement, it was not a recipe for revitalizing a company rapidly losing its market.

I certainly would appreciate any comments about these thoughts.  Please feel free to email me with additional information/criticism/praise(!).  In a few more months of work, I hope to have a much more detailed history of the Company.

Copyright © 2011 SamLindsey.com.  All rights reserved.

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Copyright © 2011 SamLindsey.com.  All rights reserved.

Privacy Statement

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited