Historic Springfield Wagon, mail hack on display at Library Station

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Two historic horse-drawn vehicles, including a Springfield-made wagon, are on display at the Library Station as part of a loan from the History Museum on the Square.

The display features an original Springfield Wagon and a late-19th-century mail hack, a small enclosed buggy once used by the postal service. The Springfield-Greene County Library District branch has created materials explaining the vehicles and their connection to local history.

A look at Springfield’s past

The Springfield Wagon Company manufactured the wagon and built a reputation for quality that extended nationwide, according to the museum. The mail hack offers a glimpse of how people communicated across southwest Missouri communities in the late 19th century.

The library will display and preserve both vehicles throughout the loan. Admission to the Library Station is free.

“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.

Haley White, the Library Station’s branch manager, said 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.

How the vehicles came to the library

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.

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