Nancy Weidel

Sheepwagon: Home on the Range Nancy Weidel

For so long, the sheepwagon was such a common sight on the western landscape that it has been overlooked as an important part of the region s culture. Other than a few articles about the quaint sheepwagon or the lonely life of the rapidly disappearing sheepherder, no definitive history of the western sheep business has been written since 1948.

This photo-intensive book gives the history of the sheepwagon and the surrounding sheep business. Here are chapters on the early days of Western sheep-raising; the origins and manufacturing of sheepwagons; traditional sheepherders: their superstitions, customs and pastimes; women and families who lived in sheepwagons; the Basque influence; and modern-day herders, sheepwagons, and restorers.

Author Weidel spent years interviewing sheepmen and women, sheepherders, wagon builders, and experts for this, the only book on the fascinating first mobile home.