Jim Jensen, left, the owner of the Oxbow Trading Co. and Museum, started collecting when he was in high school and still has some of his early items on a wall in his shop. In the 11,000-square-foot building, there are three different venues - the wagon making, the trading company and the museum. Cecil Gagnon, right, who lives in John Day, is the man behind the making of the Ox Bow wagons. Gagnon, retired nine years ago after being self-employed as a carpenter and cabinetmaker. The Eagle/Marissa Allen

CANYON CITY – Outside a building on Canyon Boulevard, there was an untidy collection of metal animals, old wagon wheels and a white pickup pulling a trailer stacked to the brim with odds and ends.

When a sightseer stepped from the bright sunshine into the shadowy expanse of the Oxbow Trading Co. and Museum, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust.

The atmosphere was slightly musky as in the dim light, images of old cast iron hooks, birdbaths, mannequins and merry-a-go-round horse replicas came into focus.

Jim Jensen, a six-foot, five-inch tall man with a peppered beard and broad shoulders, is the owner of the Oxbow Trading Co. and Museum, which he started nearly 12 years ago.

Oxbow Trading Co. and Museum got its name while Jensen was living on the Oxbow Ranch in Prairie City with a friend. That was where he first opened the enterprise in a building on the property.

After several years, Jensen bought the old Whiskey Gulch Gang’s ’62 Days Hall in Canyon City to house his business.

“I’m here because I like the area and this building (and) that goes far,” Jensen said.

The Oxbow Trading Co. and Museum is for anyone traveling through town or locals to stop in and venture around. A bucket is out for anyone to drop a few bucks in for the visit.

“If it is a special trip, call first to make sure that we are around,” Jensen said.

Before Jensen began living his hobby of trading and collecting in John Day, he lived in Lake Geneva, Wis.

Jensen was a county police officer in his hometown. There he had worked for 20 years, when he retired as a fish and game and general law enforcement officer. The land and 34 bodies of water, rivers and lakes that he patrolled were primarily Amish country, known for the historical aspects of horse and buggies. This is what sparked his passion for wagons, carts and antiques.

Jensen started collecting when he was in high school and still has some of his early items on a wall in his shop.

In the 11,000-square-foot building, there are three different venues – the wagon making, the trading company and the museum.

There is a room off the large, main room, which is stacked with antiques and a collection of horse-drawn vehicles, new and vintage; buggies; wagons; carts; and sleighs and carriages, draft-horse size down to miniature. Most of these vehicles are items that he picked up on many of his travels around the country to auctions, trade shows or to trade with the Amish.

In Jensen’s possession is a 1800s mail sleigh; a unique buggy used by a traveling Midwest minister; a century-old horse-drawn wheeled hearse that converts to a sleigh for winter funerals; and one of the last surreys built by the Studebaker family before they converted to motorized vehicles.

On the other side of the main room, the horse-drawn vehicles are reproduced, restored and built. Cecil Gagnon, who lives in John Day, is the man behind the making of the wagons. Gagnon retired nine years ago after being self-employed as a carpenter and cabinet maker.

“Myself and his wife brought him out of retirement,” Jensen said.

When Gagnon took the job, he had no experience building wagons.

“I just would take measurements (of wagons already made) and make cardboard templetes and go from there,” Gagnon said.

His skills have brought the Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) out to Canyon City to do a documentary on his work, which has aired three times on the television station. Gagnon does get help with building the wagons, with four other men that help with painting, welding, upholstering and other tasks.

The horse-drawn vehicles that are built or restored are sold or auctioned off all over the world; wagons and carts have shipped to South Korea to a country club, Japan, France, England, Hawaii and Peru. They also stay in the states and are used on guest ranches, weddings, outfitters and pleasure drivers.

Jensen travels to the Midwest six times a year in his Ford 1-ton pickup, pulling a 40-foot trailer that can carry loads of up to 31,000 pounds, he said.

“I’m on a first-name basis at all the weigh scales,” Jensen said. “When I am leaving on a trip, I know I am going to get an overload ticket,” Jensen said.

He travels to the Midwest to pick up wood parts, axels, wheels and to drop off and pick up items. Jensen doesn’t turn back toward Oregon until his trailer is loaded down, tied with many ropes to keep everything in place.

He also trades with the Amish.

“It takes a while to get into the inner circle of the Amish,” Jensen said.

He prearranges his travels with them by mail.

“I know every good buffet from here to the Midwest,” Jensen said.

Jensen’s next destination is to the Cowboy Collectible Auction the third week in September at the Redmond Convention Center.

Oxbow Trading Co. and Museum is at 395 Canyon Boulevard, Canyon City; (541) 575-2911.