By Marjory J. Sente 
Writing “Thoughts on Turning Seventy,” Cowboy Poet Bud Brown, in 1973, mused: 

“I couldn’t care less to find up there
That Heaven has no golf courses
As long as there’s a good supply of 
Well trained mules and horses . . .

I’d rather drive a six-mule hitch for an eternity…” 

Three years later, in 1976, as part of America’s Bicentennial Celebration, Francis Valentine “Bud” Brown drove his six mini-mule hitch for what probably seemed an eternity. Arizona’s wagon master, Brown, and his mule-drawn prairie schooner joined the pilgrimage on January 14, 1976, at Yuma for a six-month, 3,000-mile journey to Valley Forge for the nation’s July 4 200th anniversary activities. 

The Southwest Bicentennial Wagon Train’s trek east began at the Rose Bowl Parade on January 1. It followed the Gila and Santa Fe trails to Kansas City, Missouri. The American Waterways Operators then transported the wagons by barge to Pittsburgh. The final lap of the trip took the Lancaster Pike to Valley Forge.   

In July 1972, the Pennsylvania Bicentennial Committee elected to organize a wagon-train pilgrimage to symbolically reverse the nation’s history of westward expansion and to remind Americans of their pioneer roots. 

Four years later, shouting, “Eastward Ho,” wagon masters oversaw wagons traveling from all fifty states to Valley Forge. Five routes crossed the U.S. and ultimately converged in Pennsylvania.

Brown, a self-proclaimed mule man, said, in an April 25, 1976, Arizona Republic profile, “This [Wagon Trail Pilgrimage] seemed like the only aspect of the Bicentennial celebration which presented people the opportunity to ‘do something’ rather then [sic] be a spectator.” 

In October 1975, Governor Raul Castro and Brown received the Arizona wagon at a public ceremony in Phoenix. Costing $5,000 to build, Aero Mayflower Transit Co. Inc. contributed it—one of 60 wagons commissioned for the pilgrimage. Built by the Arkansas Village Carriage Company, the wagon’s running gears and wheels were made of seasoned white oak, and the bodies were pine. 

Although looking like those used by pioneers, the wagons had structural changes. The axles were steel embedded in white oak; the hubs were cast and contained ball bearings; and the wheels’ steel rims were replaced with rubber imbedded in an iron casing. Another major modification, dividing the front wagon board in half and installing a spring seat, allowed the wagon master to use normal lead lines and ride in comfort. 
 
An August 8, 1976, Arizona Republic article quotes Brown about the challenges faced along the trip. “The first three months we got freeze dried in the cold; the next three we got parboiled in the heat. In New Mexico we worried about going down the Raton Pass.” Concerned about the wagon’s brakes, they chained big truck tires to the wagon to slow its descent.

Brown said the people in small towns turned out and cheered on the pilgrims. Often the townspeople threw them a dinner or party. Every night of the trip, the musical troupe performed a free patriotic show.

After the Fourth of July festivities, Brown and his mules returned home to Prescott’s Friendly Pines Camp. However, he was quick to tell Maggie Wilson in her August 8, 1976, Arizona Republic article, “Go again, tomorrow? Absolutely. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and if the chance came again, I wouldn’t want to miss the rerun.”

Arizona’s wagon remained at Valley Forge until October 1. The Aero Mayflower Van Lines then shipped it to the Phoenix Museum of History. In 1978 the Arizona Historical Society gave it to the Sharlot Hall Museum. Now residing in the Transportation Building, the Bicentennial Wagon has been refurbished and will roll in the 2026 Prescott Frontier Days Rodeo Parade on July 4th.

“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1 The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.