I'm trying to do some research into an old percussion muzzleloader that's been in our family for a long time. It's in fair condition, but it's solid and original. The maker remains a mystery, though, but since it has some local provenance, and we have a tantalizing lead, we'd love to find out who made it.
My dad bought the gun as a kid in PA, and some years later had some repair work done on it. The gunsmith told him at the time he thought the gun might be a "Wagenhorst" gun, but my dad didn't follow up on it.
Fast forward about 40 years: My Dad took the gun to a highly-respected appraiser/consultant, who said it was fowler built in or near Lehigh County PA in the mid 19th century. Asked about the maker, he said he couldn't identify the maker and had no knowledge of a maker named "Wagenhorst".
A bit intrigued, I did a bit of sleuthing of my own, I found some reference to a "gun builder" Isaac Wagenhorst who lived in the mid-19th century in Upper Berks County, very close to the Lehigh County line. Indeed, with a bit more sleuthing, I found a map from the same era showing the exact location of a "Wagenhorst Gun Factory".
This was all pretty exciting, but it certainly doesn't prove this gun is was built by Wagenhorst. Heck, it doesn't even prove Wagenhorst built complete guns (maybe he only built barrels). Digging into the county archives further hasn't paid out yet. I'm still digging, though.
No one I've contact has even heard of this builder, so there are no guns to compare it to, and there are no markings on the gun to tie it to any maker. Even if there were, we don't know what Wagenhorst's markings were.
So...any of y'all ever heard of Wagenhorst?
My dad bought the gun as a kid in PA, and some years later had some repair work done on it. The gunsmith told him at the time he thought the gun might be a "Wagenhorst" gun, but my dad didn't follow up on it.
Fast forward about 40 years: My Dad took the gun to a highly-respected appraiser/consultant, who said it was fowler built in or near Lehigh County PA in the mid 19th century. Asked about the maker, he said he couldn't identify the maker and had no knowledge of a maker named "Wagenhorst".
A bit intrigued, I did a bit of sleuthing of my own, I found some reference to a "gun builder" Isaac Wagenhorst who lived in the mid-19th century in Upper Berks County, very close to the Lehigh County line. Indeed, with a bit more sleuthing, I found a map from the same era showing the exact location of a "Wagenhorst Gun Factory".
This was all pretty exciting, but it certainly doesn't prove this gun is was built by Wagenhorst. Heck, it doesn't even prove Wagenhorst built complete guns (maybe he only built barrels). Digging into the county archives further hasn't paid out yet. I'm still digging, though.
No one I've contact has even heard of this builder, so there are no guns to compare it to, and there are no markings on the gun to tie it to any maker. Even if there were, we don't know what Wagenhorst's markings were.
So...any of y'all ever heard of Wagenhorst?
