Historic Springfield Wagon and Mail Hack Exhibit at Library Station

Springfield Wagon and Mail Hack find new home at Library Station

Two historic horse-drawn vehicles, a Springfield-made wagon and a late-19th-century mail hack, are currently on display at the Library Station branch of the Springfield-Greene County Library District. The vehicles were placed at the library as part of a loan from the History Museum on the Square.

The Springfield Wagon Company manufactured the wagon that now sits on display. The company built a reputation for quality that extended nationwide. Alongside the wagon, the museum provided a mail hack—a small enclosed buggy once used by the postal service—to demonstrate how people communicated across southwest Missouri communities in the late 19th century.

Preserving local heritage through public access

The library branch has created materials explaining the vehicles and their connection to local history. Admission to the Library Station is free.

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We believe our collection should be accessible to the community, not just to those who walk through our museum doors, said Sean FitzGibbons, executive director of the History Museum on the Square.

The vehicles were previously on display at the Route 66 Car Museum. They were originally part of the Springfield Art Museum’s collection before being donated to the History Museum on the Square. Haley White, the Library Station’s branch manager, noted that the vehicles fit the branch’s transportation theme.

“We’re especially proud to showcase a piece of our community’s history and celebrate the fact that the iconic wagon was made right here in Springfield,” White said. The library will display and preserve both vehicles throughout the loan.