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Conestoga wagons
Conestoga wagon The Conestoga type wagon was first built by German settlers in the Conestoga river valley region in Lancaster County, Eastern Pennsylvania in the 1730s. German immigrants in the same area also gave us the Pennsylvanian long rifle and the large wooden farm barns.
The first Conestoga wagons were modified versions of English and German wagons. They were also known as Dutch wagons in the 1700s. The Conestoga wagons differed from European wagons in that the wagon body was longer and deeper. The floor had a crosswise and lengthways sag in the middle and the front panel and rear door were slanted, which was very useful on steep inclines. This slope was carried on into the supports for the cover. The first wagons were farm wagons carrying loads of one ton, and the larger freight type wagons date from after 1750. By 1830 the big freight wagons were capable of carrying up to 6 tons.
Unlike English farm wagons the Conestoga wagons took on a standard shape very early. English wagons showed great variety of forms form one county to another and even from village to village. In Ireland around 1750 the most usual form of distance transport was the block wheeled car.
Conestoga wagon
Conestoga wagons were first used by the army in Braddock's military campaign against the French in 1755 and later during the rest of the French and Indian War of 1755-61. They carried much equipment through the Appalachian hills to Fort Pitt which eventually became the town of Pittsburgh and saw considerable use during the War of Independence.
Conestoga wagon, from Lancaster County
The Wagon
Every point of strain was reinforced by iron, and all rubbing parts were given iron plates. The frame and the floor beams were of white oak and the boards were of poplar. The hoops were made of hickory. The cover was firstly made from hemp cloth, then flax tow cloth and finally canvas, bound on the inside with iron strips riveted through the boards to the outside. The bed of the wagon was only attached to the running gear at three points, one over the centre of the front axle where the axle swivelled and two places over the back axle. The bed was not a simple box but a basket which was able to take the strains imposed on it by the rough roads. It was very flexible. Having said that, many of the curves on it were exaggerated with an eye to a perception of beauty of the time. In the same way, a lot of the ironwork found on the wagons was decorated with various motifs and Pennsylvanian Dutch tulip, heart and birds-head designs were frequently used. The floorboards ran lengthways. The beams under the wagon bed extended beyond the side of the floor, with iron braces resting on them prevent the sides bursting under load. There were three pairs of chains fastened in the middle by hooks to stop the sides from being pushed out by the load. The overhang front and rear increased the carrying capacity without increasing the distance from the front and rear wheels, kept out the dust and rain and brought the load closer to the horses. The wheels were 12 feet apart - if it was any wider, the wagons would have been very hard to turn. The front wheels were smaller than the rear to allow easier turning.
Running Gear
The wheel hubs were made from black gum or sour gum tree as the interwoven grain does not split. Elm is used in England. The spokes were made from straight white oak, and the felloes were also made from oak. The wheels are dished so that pressure from the side cannot buckle them. The cross section of the wheel has a triangle shape which is the strongest structural shape. A wagon on a rough road with one side of the wagon lifted higher than the other will develop a huge sideways thrust on the wheel on the lower side. With a dished wheel the spokes will press downwards against the heavy iron tyre rather outward which may cause them to buckle. The axle on which the wheel is mounted has a slight downwards dip. The axle is conical but the bottom of the axle must be horizontal. This will ensure that the hub does not rub against the lynch pin holding the wheel on the axle. It also means that the dished wheel will appear to be slightly inclined away from the wagon, so that the spoke that is meeting the ground is vertical, transferring the weight of the wagon directly down the length of the spoke.
Early wheels had iron tyres of several pieces, each the size of individual felloes. These were fitted with spikes to the wheel so that they overlapped the felloes. Later they were made with a single piece of iron heated and then cooled as it was fitted to the wheel. The end of the wooden axle was fitted with iron on the top and bottom where it fitted into the hub, but it was not encased in iron. The axle and axletree were made of white oak or hickory. The rubbing plate on the front axle allowing it to turn was made of iron and constantly greased. The pull required to haul the wagon decreases as the size of the rear wheel increases. Wheels were usually six feet wide for roadwork with a three-inch tread and five feet wide with a five-inch tread for farm work. The front and rear axles were fitted to two triangular frameworks. The rear axle framework was joined to the front by a short coupling pole like the tongue that extends from the front axle that the horses pull on. This was a very strong but flexible assembly.
The brake was operated by a large lever on the left. This operates a rocker bar which pulls a break beam that makes contact with the tyres. This is a classic feature of later Conestoga wagons. Before this wagoners relied on chopping down a heavy tree and tying it to the back of the wagon. All the running gear was painted red by the wagon makers in common with other farm equipment. The bodies were normally painted blue. Iron work was painted black. The tar box was black, the feed box was blue, the bucket was red or unpainted with the owner's name and the jack was with the maker's initials and date of manufacture.
Replica wagon
Replica Conestoga wagon at the Ulster American Folk Park, showing red and blue paintwork
The wagon beds were stored at the end of the wagoning season by tying them to the roof of the barn, The running gear could then be used for other farm work.
Accessories
There were a number of accessories carried as a matter of routine on the wagon, each had a special place of attachment to the wagon.
An axe was always carried. It was used to cut firewood in the evenings, cut down trees to be tied to the back of the wagon to act as brakes on early types. It was also used to make running repairs to the wagon on the road. The axe was stored in a sheath on the left front hound, connecting the front axle to the wagon tongue. The axe holders were often very decorative.
A bucket for water was usually carried under the back axle.
The feed trough the horses ate from was five feet long, made of poplar wood and had a light metal strap on its top edge to stop the horses from eating it. It was attached to the wagon by two chains on the back and it rested against the back door. It was positioned on the wagon tongue to fed the horses, kept in place by an iron lug at one end and a pin at the other. The horses were tied either side of the wagon tongue usually to special rings provided.
Every wagon carried a tar pot. It had a very characteristic shape. They were generally turned from poplar logs. They had lids with a hole in the middle through which stuck a wooden paddle used to apply the tar. The grease was a mixture of pine tar and lard. It was applied directly to the axle. The tar pot was suspended from a leather thong just above the rear axle.
The wagon jack was frequently used to take off wheels to allow them to be greased. They were very rugged devices which usually outlasted the wagons for which they were made. Many have a date on them and some have the manufacture's initials. Recorded dates on jacks range from 1729-1889, and the device has its origins in central Europe. It was stored inside the wagon near the back door. Larger jacks date from 1805 corresponding to the improvement in the roads and the increase in size of freight wagons.
The toolbox was positioned on the left hand side of the wagon. It was a simple wooden box bound with iron with a sloping lid. It was often on the toolbox that the most ornate ironwork was to be found.
Brake lever
Detail of the Conestoga wagon at the Ulster American Folk Park, showing the toolbox with ornate ironwork decoration, and brake lever crossing diagonally in the foreground.
Conestoga Horses
The Conestoga draft horse was descended from Flemish stallions crossed with Virginian mares. Careful breeding by farmers in the Conestoga region was probably the foundation of the breed; the same farmers were also noted for feeding their horses very well. However it was a breed of mixed stock and additional mixing of stock was used as better horses came into the country, so it was never a breed in the true sense of the term. It started off as a dual-purpose horse for pulling and for riding. As time went on it developed into more of a true draft horse but still was an animal capable of travelling 100 miles over poor roads in mountainous terrain. Draft horses in the 1850s were used to pull very heavy loads over short distances on paved roads. They had strong bodies and legs had a long stride, had a steady active movement and were sixteen to seventeen hands high and weighed 700kg. The body colour was solid either bay or black. The breed died out early in the 20th century. These heavy horses needed careful attention to keep them in health. The mule needed practically no doctoring and hardy western horses were cheaper to buy and did not eat as much as Conestoga and were found to be strong enough for farm work.
The Harness
The pulling force of the horse is exerted on the wagon by means of the traces, chains fastened to the singletree. The singletree is a piece of wood about 32 inches long with a hook at either end for the trace chain to fit on to. It had a hook in the centre which fastened it to the double tree by means of another chain. The double tree is attached directly to the wagon or transmits the horses' power to the wagon by two spreader chains. The spreader chains at each end of the double tree attach directly to the wagon tongue or indirectly to it by means of another chain, the fifth chain. The pair of traces for each horse ran along the side of each horse and were fastened to the hames. The hames were a pair of curved pieces of wood linked at top and bottom. These fit against the outside of the collar. The collar is a large pad fitted around the neck so the horse can pull against the hames without discomfort. The housing is a large piece of leather attached to the top of the collar over the hames. It keeps the neck and shoulders dry. The bridle was usually made out of a single piece of leather with wide nose and forehead pieces. The blinkers were very big. The leather parts and bridle were elaborately decorated in the 19th century.
The fifth chain carrier keeps the middle horses from straying to either side, is attached form one collar to the other. As the name suggests, it also lifts the fifth chain of the ground. Similarly chains attach the wheel horse's collar to the wagon pole or tongue. The jockey stick does the same for the leader horses. The stay chain between the double tree and the wagon will only tighten if one of the wheel horses moves too fast for the other one and so keeps the two going at the one pace.
Bells
Bells were a common adornment to the harness of the horse. They were held in an arch containing three, four, five or six bells. The arch was attached to the collar of the horse. They warned of the approach of the wagon and were also for decoration and allowed the horses to be found in the morning after being freed at night time. There were usually no bells on the saddle horse as they
would have interfered with the jerk line and also been ringing under the drivers nose. Normally the leader horses had the five lighter bells, the middle the four-bell arch and the wheel horse the 3 heavy bells.
Wagon bells
If a wagon needed assistance from another wagoner it was common to hand over the bells in thanks for the assistance. It was a matter of some shame to arrive at your destination without your bells. This was the origin of the saying "I'll be there with bells on." Some wagoners would refuse help so as not to loose face even to the extent of breaking the wagon tongue to free the horses.
Set of five wagon bells
The Horse Team
The horses nearest the wagon were called the wheel horses, the right hand horse was called the off horse, and the left the saddle horse. The driver sometimes rode this horse. The driver walked on the left so left was near side and right off side. The pair in the middle were the swing horses. The left front was the leader and the right front was the offside leader. The lead horse was controlled by one rein - the jerk rein. The jerk line passed through three large rings to keep it in position, one on the leaders hip and two on the swing leader's collar and hip. These large rings had twelve small rings attached to them. They made a distinctive sound when the jerk line was used so that the other horses knew to respond. The jerk rein split in two lines at the collar of the lead horse, one for each side of the bit. A long pull with the word "haw" turned the horse left, the rein pulling at the left hand side of the bit. Short jerks instructed the horse to go to the right along with the word "gee," the horse will feel a pull on the right side of the bit along with the pull on the left side and will go right. The rest of the horses will follow in the team. Short reins on the rest of the horses are tied to their collars allowing them to move their heads but still exerting a restraining influence. The offside leader is controlled by a jockey stick. This is a light rod attached to the leaders collar and the right side of the offside leaders bit. Thus the offside leader must mimic the actions of the leader. The teamster usually had a Blacksnake whip. It was used to make a loud cracking noise rather than to beat the horses. It was made from a single piece of leather. The heaviest and strongest horses were the wheel horses. The lightest were the lead horses. The offside leader was usually trained to be a leader. The driver sometimes sat on the nearside saddle horse, the saddler horse. It usually carried no bells. The saddle used was of a light and simple design but suited to the purpose.
Teamsters
No one sat in the front of the wagon, and the driver normally walked alongside on the left. The English always passed on the right but Continentals passed on the left. In America the Germans would have continued the habit; as they started off the tradition of the Conestoga wagon, passing on the left would have spread as the use of the wagon spread. Sometimes the driver sat on the lazy board where he could operate the brake. The brake was on the left but appeared only on later wagons.
The great wagon roads started to open up after The French and Indian War of 1755-61 as military roads between the forts were turned into commercial routes for trade and settlers. Before this packhorses would have to be used to negotiate narrow trails. Road building increased after the War of Independence. Many roads were toll roads with so much to be paid for different sizes of wagons, numbers of horses or on the numbers of livestock being driven down the road. Restrictions were put on weights to be carried in the wagons in winter to stop damage to the road.
There were two types of wagoner, regulars or teamsters who were full time wagoner's and militia or sharpshooters who were farmers who used their farm wagons at off peak times to make extra money hauling goods. Wagoning was a young man's profession and when he got married he usually left the road. They had the same position in early 1800s eastern folklore as the cowboy had in western lore of the late 1800s. Wagoners wore a wide brimmed hat, a homespun suit, high top boots called stogies and usually had abeard. Tradition also has it that stogies was the name given to the coarse cigars that waggoners smoked, made from Pennsylvanian tobacco, which was not of the highest quality. These cigars were said to resemble the spokes of the Conestoga wagon. Stogies were also a shortened name for the wagon.In winter a big coat, mittens and a scarf kept out the cold. They were very skilful men to harness a team on their own and then to drive it maybe well over 100 miles.
The roads would have had taverns to provide a resting place for the teamsters, and they all usually slept in a single room on their own bedrolls. Horses were left out in the open yard with a blanket over them in the winter. Fenced fields and pens were provided for the drovers who used the road. Feed could be bought for the horses. Locally produced whiskey was sold. A slate was kept in full view of the accumulated charge for each man. If a pint of whiskey was bought on short-term credit a "P" was written under the man's name if it was a quart then a "Q" was written. This gave rise to the expression of "minding your Ps and Qs."
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