Don Werner of Horton, Kansas, along with his wife, Connie, have been in the wagon building business for 24 years. When Don was a little boy his dad farmed with a wagon and he would ride in the back listening to the corn hit the bang boards. From this memory came the desire to build his own wagon and from that desire Werner Wagon Works was born. They have products in almost every state, Canada, and Japan. Besides building small buckboards and grand stagecoaches, the Werner’s also do restoration of horse drawn wagons. Don is a wheelwright and is able to build new wheels or restore old ones. The Werners are unique in that they build everything from the ground up. In the U.S. today there are only a handful of these craftsmen.

Their vehicles are housed in museums and historical sites, used on living history farms, on ranches, have been selected to be in the historical presidential inauguration parade, have traveled a number of the historical trails and used privately by individuals that love the era of these horse drawn conveyances. Their contribution the California Trail Interpretive Center may be seen in the Platte River Trade diorama, and in the outside wagon camp.

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