Gruber Wagon Works

Gruber Wagon Works. . In the 1870's, Franklin H. Gruber, founder of the Gruber Wagon Works, began building wagons and repairing agricultural implements at a small shop on his farm. As demand for his services increased, Franklin decided to relocate and expand his business by building a new structure along the Licking Creek near Mt. Pleasant (Obold), PA. The Gruber Wagon Works was erected in 1882, in an area of Penn Township called Pleasant Valley, just about 5 miles north of its location here. This area is now located under the Rt. 183 bridge over Licking Creek at Mt. Pleasant and the impounded waters of Blue Marsh Lake. , The manufacturing process at the Wagon Works evolved from a single craftsman using tools and techniques used by wheelwrights for centuries, to a family operated business employing mass production methods. Four of Franklin's sons-John. Adam, Jacob and George-followed their father into the business, each specializing in one particular process., Farm wagons, hay flats, wheelbarrows, work sleighs, wooden truck bodies, and specialty wagons were all designed to the customer's specifications and manufactured in the shop., Frank P. Gruber, took over control of the business in 1935 and operated the shop for business until 1972., On June 2, 1972, the Gruber Wagon Works was placed on the National Register of Historic Places., In the late autumn and winter of 1976, the building was delicately separated into 4 major sections and moved a distance of 5 miles from its original location to its new home at the Berks County Heritage Center. The move was no small feat considering that the largest section moved measured 71 feet long, 26 feet wide, 40 feet high, and weighed 86 tons., On December 22, 1977, the Secretary of the Interior declared the Gruber Wagon Works a National Historic Landmark commemorating its significance to local history and culture. Today, with over 19,000 tools and wagons in the collection, it survives as one of best(?) and few examples of rural wagon manufacturing in the United States.