Untitled – Pioneer Crossing Park
AKA Pioneer Crossing, Wagon Train
When Pioneer Crossing Park in Shawnee was created, local artist Charles Goslin was commissioned to create art works to commemorate the history of Shawnee and the surrounding area. This monumental sculpture was the second work placed in the park.
This large work is based on a smaller painting that Goslin had done previously. Goslin and Brickstone Studios recreated his painting into this large three-dimensional sculpture. The final result measures sixty feet long, twelve feet high and eight feet deep.
The work recreates what at one time must have been a common appearance in the area with four major trails that crossed through what are now the Shawnee city limits. Those trails were the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, the California Road and the Fort Leavenworth Military Road.
The sculpture depicts four covered wagons. A man armed with a rifle walks behind the train. Another man scouts alongside on horseback. Teams of oxen pull the wagons with two men wielding whips driving the oxen along. A boy and a dog walk in the tall grass alongside the train. A bronze sculpture of a woman, set apart from the stone mural, walks next to the boy. The lead team of oxen is also of bronze and set apart from the mural. The heads and front part of the next team of oxen are also made of bronze that blends into the stone. Between the two teams of oxen, there are hoof prints in the sidewalk. The stone mural is very detailed and shows a number of things that wagons carried as well as the chains and ropes between the teams of oxen.
