Description
The Wagon Works gift basket featuring local artisan products has it all and it is all from Berks County!
The Gruber Wagon Works is a historic industrial facility on Red Bridge Road in Bern Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Built about 1882, it is a scarce example of a fully outfitted 19th-century wagon manufacturing facility.
The Gruber Wagon Works survives as one of the most complete examples of an integrated rural manufactory of its kind in the nation. Erected in 1882 by Franklin H. Gruber, the wagon works evolved from a single craftsman shop, having a variety of specialized hand tools, into a family-operated business which employed up to 20 men who utilized mass-production methods. Unlike a modern assembly process, wagon parts were transported back and forth between various rooms in order to complete a segment of the work.
Wagon wheels were constructed in the bench shop, and wooden parts of the wagon were made from patterns in the wood shop. Wheels were “tired” and wagons were “ironed” and assembled in the blacksmith shop. The distinctive striping and scroll work were applied by hand in the paint shop.
