It's a horse drawn log skidder. Big wheel logging. That beam on top is used as a cantilever to raise the log then it could be skidded.
https://project.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/big_wheels.html
Big Wheels were used in many places here in Ca, Or, Wa
You can do some looking at the various websites of old Redwood and Sugar Pine operations, find pictures of them behind Thirty.s and more often Sixty's.
Some were equipped with metal plates covering the spokes to prevent ripping the spokes out with debris.
Then came the logging arches afterward, which required a winch.
CTS
You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.
Hi, restore49.
Those 'gadgets' were the ancestors of logging arches back before there was mechanical horsepower and logging was done with horse or bullock teams. They were a way of getting the front end of the log off the ground for easier pulling - went the way of the dodo bird and the dinosaurs when powered winches on tractors became a thing and logging arches became possible.
Just my 0.02.
Thanks: The liberty tool museum is glad to have the puzzle solved. Bob
You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.