Despite being the nation’s acknowledged wagonmaster, building more wood-bodied station wagons than any other automaker to 1948, Ford Motor Company was late in coming to all-steel construction. Eclipsed by Willys Overland in 1946 and Plymouth’s Suburban in 1949, Ford struggled through 1951 with a series of “half-timbered” two-door wagons. Finally, for 1952 the company introduced a two-door, all-steel six-passenger Ranch Wagon and four-door, eight-passenger Country Sedan, the latter in upscale Customline trim. Unwilling to abandon wood entirely, they paid homage to heritage with a faux woodgrain four-door Country Squire, albeit outlined in genuine ash. In so doing, of course, Ford laid the groundwork for generations of simulated woodies from all automakers.

A Customline Ranch Wagon became available in 1954, and in 1955 the wagons were moved to a series of their own, with Country Sedans for both six and eight passengers. For 1956, the up-scaling continued, with a new two-door wagon, called Parklane, in Fairlane trim, complemented by a similarly decorated eight-passenger Country Sedan. The six-passenger four-door wagon remained with Customline trim. The prestige Country Squire notwithstanding, the eight-passenger Country Sedan was the most popular Ford wagon, selling 85,374 units.

This 1956 eight-passenger Country Sedan is quite unusual, having the 225 bhp, 312-cu. in. Thunderbird Special engine seldom installed in wagons. The car’s data plate indicates a special order of Buckskin Tan, a dark shade resembling coral, and White, combined with light and dark brown vinyl interior. The latter features a cattle-brand motif on the seats, particularly appropriate for a Texas wagon. Built at the Dallas plant on 2 March 1956, it bears a Powell Motors dealer emblem. A freshened original car, it features Ford-O-Matic transmission, power steering, heater, electric clock, push-button radio, and wire motif wheel covers. Driven fewer than 80,000 miles, it presents very well inside and out.

Country Sedans were popular, but surely few, if any, were built to the same specification as this one.