How much does a Conestoga wagon cost?

It was costlyas much as $1,000 for a family of four. That fee included a wagon at about $100. Usually four or six animals had to pull the wagon.

What is the difference between a prairie schooner and a Conestoga wagon?

A prairie schooner is simply a fancy name for a covered wagon. … The Conestoga wagon was much larger and heavier than a prairie schooner. A Conestoga wagon was pulled by six to eight horses or a dozen oxen, while a prairie schooner was much lighter and rarely needed more than four horses or oxen, and sometimes only two.

Why is it called a Conestoga wagon?

Summary. The Conestoga wagon was a specific type of wagon used during the late 18th-19th century. The wagon was named for where it was created near the Conestoga River in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. … The Conestoga wagon is credited with transport of goods for nearly a century before railroads made their appearance.

Why was the Conestoga wagon important?

During the 1700s through the 1800s, the Conestoga wagon was a reliable way to transport a large number of productsaround 12,000 poundsbetween stores and settlements. The construction of the wagon was very sturdy, protecting goods from damage as the wagon traveled along bumpy roads and through water.

How many wagon trains went west?

Between 1840 and 1869, the year the Transcontinental Railroad was completed, more than 420,000 pioneers went West on the Oregon Trail.

How many miles a day did wagon trains travel?

The covered wagon made 8 to 20 miles per day depending upon weather, roadway conditions and the health of the travelers. It could take up to six months or longer to reach their destination.

Why didn’t most pioneers ride in their wagons?

People didn’t ride in the wagons often, because they didn’t want to wear out their animals. Instead they walked alongside them, getting just as dusty as the animals. The long journey was hard on both people and animals. It was even hard on the wagons, which usually had to be repaired several times during the trip.

What does the word Conestoga mean?

The word Conestoga probably derives from the Iroquois language, and is sometimes defined as people of the cabin pole. Before the arrival of European settlers in the region, the Conestogaa Native American tribe also known as the Susquehanna or Susquehannocklived along the Susquehanna River.

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Where did pioneers sleep?

Some pioneers did sleep in their wagons. Some did camp on the groundeither in the open or sheltered under the wagon. But many used canvas tents. Despite the romantic depictions of the covered wagon in movies and on television, it would not have been very comfortable to travel in or sleep in the wagon.

When did wagon trains end?

Travel by wagon train occurred primarily between the 1840s1880s, diminishing after completion of the first transcontinental railroad.

Did Conestoga wagons float?

The average box length of a Conestoga wagon was 10 feet long and 4 feet wide. … Conestoga wagons required between 6 and 10 oxen to pull them. The metal rims on the wheels for the Conestoga wagon were 4 wide to float the weight of the wagon across long stretches of sandy trails.

What does pulling the wagon mean?

If you are anywhere near my age you will have heard the phrase, It’s your little red wagon, and you have to pull it. There’s another phrase used for the same meaning; If you make your own bed, then you have to lie in it. Both phrases are generally used to express that everyone must be accountable for their own …

How much did a covered wagon cost in the 1800s?

It was costlyas much as $1,000 for a family of four. That fee included a wagon at about $100. Usually four or six animals had to pull the wagon.

How many miles per day did the pioneers travel?

Average distance covered in a day was usually fifteen miles, but on a good day twenty could be traveled. 7:30 am: Men ride ahead on horses with shovels to clear out a path, if needed.

How much weight could a Conestoga wagon carry?

The Conestoga wagon is a specific design of heavy covered wagon that was used extensively during the late eighteenth century, and the nineteenth century, in the eastern United States and Canada. It was large enough to transport loads up to 6 tons (5.4 metric tons), and was drawn by horses, mules, or oxen.

How many years did wagon trains go west?

From the 1840s to the 1860s more than 300,000 pioneers crossed the plains and mountains of the West along various routes such as the Oregon and Santa Fe trails.

How many babies were born on the Oregon Trail?

What was life like for pioneer children on the Oregon Trail? Many children made the five month trek west with their families. It’s estimated that 40,000 of the emigrants were children.

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How common were Indian attacks on wagon trains?

In fact, sustained attacks by Indians on wagon trains were rare and encounters between Indians and emigrants were, more often, peaceful and mutually advantageous. … In comparison, he estimates that more than 425 Indians were killed by emigrants during the same period.

What did they eat on wagon trains?

Those who operated freight wagon trains subsisted on coffee, bread, salt pork and beans or cornmeal. Delicacies included oysters, which were packed in tins in the early years and later shipped fresh, and alcoholic beverages such as French Champagne and claret.

How many American pioneers died heading west?

Death on the Trail It is estimated that as many as 1 in 10 emigrants died on the trailbetween 20,000 and 30,000 people. The majority of deaths occurred because of diseases caused by poor sanitation. Cholera and typhoid fever were the biggest killers on the trail.

How did covered wagons cross rivers?

Some rivers could be forded, but for rivers deeper than four feet or so, a pair of canoes would be lashed together, a wagon rolled on crossways, and the resulting ferry poled across. Some smaller creeks had toll bridges built by entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on the emigrant traffic.

What did the pioneers eat for breakfast?

Beans, cornmeal mush, Johnnycakes or pancakes, and coffee were the usual breakfast. Fresh milk was available from the dairy cows that some families brought along, and pioneers took advantage go the rough rides of the wagon to churn their butter.

Why did wagon trains form a circle overnight?

To be on the safe side, the pioneers drew their wagons into a circle at night to create a makeshift stockade. If they feared Indians might raid their livestockthe Plains tribes valued the horses, though generally ignored the oxenthey would drive the animals into the enclosure.

What was the main item that pioneers brought with them in their covered wagons?

The pioneers would take with them as many supplies as possible. They took cornmeal, bacon, eggs, potatoes, rice, beans, yeast, dried fruit, crackers, dried meat, and a large barrel of water that was tied to the side of the wagon. If the pioneers could take a cow, they would.

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What kind of wagons did pioneers use?

The most common type of pioneer wagon was the prairie schooner. These were emigrant wagons. Prairie Schooners were larger and used for shorter distances, and to haul freight as they could carry heavier loads.

How fast did a Conestoga wagon travel?

The usual average rate of travel with such wagons on the Oregon Trail was about 2 miles (3.2 km) per hour, and the average distance covered each day was about 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km). This was an easy pace for both the pioneers and their animals.

Who created the wagon?

It is believed that the first covered wagons were built around 1717 in the area surrounding the Conestoga River in Pennsylvania. German immigrants in that area began building these wagons to haul heavy loads over the rough terrain of the area.

What did the pioneers eat for dessert?

As for desserts they were simple, but many and varied. There were apple dump- lings, rice and bread puddings, soft molasses cookies, sugar jumbles, and mincemeat, pumpkin, dried apple, or custard pies. On special occasions we might have lemon pie. It was not necessary to skimp on eggs or milk.

What time did pioneers go to bed?

It was not until 1952 that the first water treatment plant was constructed. Pioneers typically went to sleep at dusk since, without light, not much could be accomplished.

What did the pioneers eat for dinner?

Breads, potatoes, rice, and starchy foods put backbone into a meal and the hungry souls who ate it. The mainstays of a pioneer diet were simple fare like potatoes, beans and rice, hardtack (which is simply flour, water, 1 teaspoon each of salt and sugar, then baked), soda biscuits (flour, milk, one t.