Logging Wheels

Flagstaff was built on timber, and these towering wheels are how the logs came out of the woods. Designed in 1870 by Michigan wheelwright Silas Overpack, big wheels like these let horses, and later steam tractors, drag felled ponderosas to the railhead by lifting one end clear of the ground. Northern Arizona's mills ran on the technique into the early 1900s. For years a pair stood beside Route 66 as an entrance to town; this set was restored and moved to the Pioneer Museum, a monument to the industry that raised the city.

What the plaque says

Logging Wheels. , Logging wheels were originally an integral part of the early lumber industry in Northern Arizona. Originally designed in 1870 by Silas Overpack, a Manistee, Michigan wheelwright, the wheels were used by a local farmer to help him clear his land. When logging operations began in the early 1880's, they became a vital part of the process. The wheels, originally pulled by horses, were used into the early 1900's and were even pulled by early steam tractors., When lumberjacks felled the large trees and cut them into manageable lengths, the wheels were backed over the logs and the horses were disconnected. The tongue of the wheels was then lifted into the air and a chain was run under the logs and up to hooks on top of the axle. As the axle was pulled back down, it lifted the logs off the ground. A chain was then run around the front of the logs and the tongue to prevent the tongue from flipping back up. The horses were then re-harnessed to the wheels and the logs were pulled out of the woods to the railhead., These wheels were one of two sets that used to sit on either side of Route 66, on the west end of town near the Arizona Lumber and Timber Company, as an entryway to Flagstaff. In the 1990's, these wheels were in a serious state of decay and were moved to the Arizona Historical Society-Pioneer Museum. In 2003, a restoration project was begun to restore them to their original condition. Few craftsmen remain that have the ability to work on wheels of this size. The wheels were disassembled and the hardware was sent to Hansen Wheel and Wagon Company of Letcher, South Dakota. The wood was irreparable. Hansen's craftsmen were able to use measurements and photos of the wheels to reconstruct this set, using the original iron parts.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Flagstaff — steps away
  The ponderosa town where they found Pluto and saved the dark
• San Francisco Peaks — 10 mi
  The sacred mountain of the west — 12,633 feet, and a live argument
• Walnut Canyon National Monument — 11 mi
  Sinagua cliff dwellings in the limestone — the Hisatsinom
• Sunset Crater Volcano — 14 mi
  The volcano northern Arizona watched erupt, around 1085

More markers nearby

• Flagstaff — steps away
• Walkway of Flags — steps away
• The Milligan House — 0.2 mi
• Methodist Episcopal Church — 0.2 mi