Wheelbarrow Johnny, A Gold Rush Tale

                                                                    Blacksmith's Shop, Public Domain

John Mohler Studebaker was born in 1833 in Adams County, Pennsylvania.  As a young boy, he moved with his family to Ohio.  An 1850 Federal Census for Montgomery Township, Ashland County, Ohio, shows a 16-year-old boy named Mohler in the household of John Studebaker.  John, 51, and Henry, 23 (same family) both list their occupations as blacksmiths, while Mohler is listed as a laborer.  

                                                    1850 US Federal Census for John Mohler Studebaker

 

John Mohler decided sometime in 1853 to take a wagon of either his own making or his father's and join a wagon train to the gold fields of California.  John arrived in Placerville on the last day of August 1853.  He went there to search for gold but took a job in a blacksmith's shop at 543 Main Street.  He began a five-year professional relationship with the blacksmith H.L. Hinds.  John worked repairing miners' tools and stagecoaches but soon learned to make wheelbarrows.  John was making ten dollars a wheelbarrow by 1855 and had saved considerable money.    

       

      John Mohler Studebaker's Wheelbarrow, El Dorado County Historical Museum, Courtesy of Stephen Studebaker

There are numerous historical references to John Mohler or "Wheelbarrow Johnny" as he became known.  San Joaquin County Biographies records the biography of a man named David R. Reynolds.  Mr. Reynolds indicates meeting John in 1853 and developing a long-lasting friendship.  The Sacramento Daily Union, 7 February 1854, has an advertisement for unclaimed mail for a Jno M. Studebaker.  A California historical marker commemorating Wheelbarrow Johnny is located in Placerville, and during annual festivities, there are wheelbarrow races to celebrate Johnny.  The Studebaker Family reunions hold wheelbarrow races as well.

Stephen Studebaker with Historical Marker for John Mohler Studebaker, Courtesy of Stephen Studebaker

                    

                        Historical Marker for John Mohler Studebaker, Courtesy of Stephen Studebaker

In 1858, John returned east to South Bend, Indiana, where his family now lived.  He came by water through the port of New York.  John saw many heavy wagons and elegant carriages in New York and thought his family wagon-making business might be interested in manufacturing similar vehicles.  When he returned to South Bend, he had $8,000 to invest in the family business, which ultimately became the factory that made wagons and, eventually, the famous Studebaker cars. The Studebakers were one of a handful of wagon makers for the Oregon Trail.

                     

                         Studebaker Wagons, El Dorado County Historical Museum, Courtesy of Stephen Studebaker

John Mohler Studebaker became the co-founder and president of the Studebaker Corporation.  He built a beautiful home in South Bend, Indiana.  He called the home Sunnyside. 

                                   Sunnyside, J. M. Studebaker home, photo taken in 1901.  Public Domain.

                                      John Mohler Studebaker (seated far right), courtesy of Stephen Studebaker

John Mohler Studebaker is my husband Stephen Studebaker's 3^rd cousin, 4x removed.