Laura Ingalls Wilder, an author renowned for her stories of pioneer life, wrote about her childhood memories of traveling aboard wagons in what would come to be known as The Little House on the Prairie series. Millions of people have read Laura’s books and they still hold relevance to this day. However, perhaps one of the most overlooked factors of her books was the significance of the wagon used by the Ingalls’ family during their travels. For the Ingalls and many others, the wagon represented home while they were traveling for months. The type of wagon used by the majority of pioneers was known as the “Prairie Schooner,” which evolved from the Conestoga Wagon during the 19th century. From the early 18th century to the end of the 19th century,
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Early German and English immigrants arrived in North America during the 18th century and settled the lands north and west of Philadelphia bringing their knowledge of wagons with. The Conestoga wagon derived its name from the Conestoga River Valley of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The first known use of a wagon in North America was recorded by James Logan, a Philadelphia fur merchant and trader, in 1716. By 1720, the necessity of horse-drawn wagons rose as people settled farther from Philadelphia and needed to transport goods and furs to Lancaster County. Between 1720 to 1750, immigrants from Germany came to Lancaster County and established farms throughout the countryside. It was during this time, that a “standardized” wagon was formed. The wagons had officially become known as the “Conestoga” wagons or “Dutch” …show more content…
The bigger wheels and wide rims of the “prairie schooner” traveled easily over bumps and holes and kept the wagon from sinking into the mud. The fewer possessions a family carried with them, the better chance the wagon had of not sinking down into soft, muddy ground and rivers. Stops were a common occurrence on the trail to collect the wood needed to manufacture replacements for the wagons. Items carried in the wagons by families included bedding, weapons, food, cooking utensils, clothing, and miscellaneous household and personal items. The livestock of choice to haul the wagons were oxen because they were able to work better in muddy conditions compared to mules and were only $55 to $65 per yolk while mules could cost as much as
Early German and English immigrants arrived in North America during the 18th century and settled the lands north and west of Philadelphia bringing their knowledge of wagons with. The Conestoga wagon derived its name from the Conestoga River Valley of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The first known use of a wagon in North America was recorded by James Logan, a Philadelphia fur merchant and trader, in 1716. By 1720, the necessity of horse-drawn wagons rose as people settled farther from Philadelphia and needed to transport goods and furs to Lancaster County. Between 1720 to 1750, immigrants from Germany came to Lancaster County and established farms throughout the countryside. It was during this time, that a “standardized” wagon was formed. The wagons had officially become known as the “Conestoga” wagons or “Dutch” …show more content…
The bigger wheels and wide rims of the “prairie schooner” traveled easily over bumps and holes and kept the wagon from sinking into the mud. The fewer possessions a family carried with them, the better chance the wagon had of not sinking down into soft, muddy ground and rivers. Stops were a common occurrence on the trail to collect the wood needed to manufacture replacements for the wagons. Items carried in the wagons by families included bedding, weapons, food, cooking utensils, clothing, and miscellaneous household and personal items. The livestock of choice to haul the wagons were oxen because they were able to work better in muddy conditions compared to mules and were only $55 to $65 per yolk while mules could cost as much as