- Jail Wagon, Then and Now
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The prisoner transport wagon that briefly unloads the bad guys cannot help but catch your eye. If you have been to Ridgway, Colorado, you may have seen what you thought was that wagon on the highway or, more recently, at their very nice museum.
That piece of True Grit history has some background that is probably more interesting than its part in the movie.
The wagon part of the True Grit jail wagon was originally purchased from the Montgomery Ward Catalog in 1903 in Delta, Colorado. It was originally a freight wagon. It belonged to a long time Ridgway ranch owner by the name of Frank Charles.
The jail cage (upper piece) was made for the wagon so it could be used as a prop for the movie.
Too bad the story of how Mr. Charles came to offer his antique freight wagon to be used in the movie is not known.
It is fairly evident that the decision was made to allow Mr. Charles to keep the cage prop with his wagon. At some point, Mr. Charles removed the cage and placed it behind one of his barns. At some point it "mysteriously disappeared along with a cutter sleigh". Its whereabouts remained a mystery until Ridgway annexed the Charels Ranch. At some point, Ridgway contacted Mr. Charles and asked if he would donate the freight wagon since they now had an unknown or nameless source that had donated the original True Grit cage prop. He refused.
The owners of the freight wagon would love to have the prop returned, as they feel it was taken from them.
The original 1903 wagon is still privately owned and the cage sits on another wagon at the museum in Ridgway. If you look closely, you can tell that the wagon Ridgway is using is different than the one in the movie.