A Piece of the True West

Michael Chandler of Carbondale, Colo. has spent the past 30 years collecting authentic western antiques, including covered wagons, buckboards, and chuck wagons.

Chandler has arranged these treasures to look like a real life pioneer campsite. Among the wagons are the details that make it look authentic -–pots of black coffee, branding irons, and birdcages inside the wagons.

Each of the wagons on Chandler’s rural property are over 150 years old. Chandler does not have any replicas; all of the pieces are authentic. The only thing missing are the pioneers themselves.

While the heritage of the true westerner may be disappearing, Chandler holds a piece of the West just as it was over a century ago.