Audio
Emigrant Wagons
Transcript
Between the early 1840s and the late 1860s upwards of half a million people made the trek west to places like Oregon, California and Utah. Many traveled with their families hoping to make a better life in the West. The wagons you see before you carried their livelihoods, and their hopes and dreams across the country.
The Studebaker wagon is blue while the Murphy is painted green. Many emigrant families painted their wagons along with their canvas covers. The Murphy is slightly larger of the two. The Studebaker was mass produced by the Studebaker family who would eventually become leaders in the automotive industry.
Emigrant wagons were roughly 11 feet long by 4 feet wide and 10 feet tall. They weighed about 1,300 pounds empty, and 1,800 to 2,000 pounds loaded. Oxen were the livestock of choice used to pull these wagons. They were usually less expensive than mules and endured the long, arduous journey better. Contrary to the Hollywood myth horses were seldom used to pull wagons. Usually, a wagon the size of the Murphy required four to six oxen.
The last wagon you see is the Conestoga wagon, the semi-tractor trailer of the trails. This wagon is considerably larger than either of the family wagons. It measures 17 feet long by 8 feet wide and 20 feet tall! Depending on the load as few as ten oxen could be used but sometimes as many as 24 oxen were needed. Conestoga wagons supplied the western outposts with goods and supplies of all kinds. People traveling and living west of the Missouri River relied on freighters to haul a little bit of home and civilization to the frontier.
When looking at these wagons you might think to yourself, “Traveling 2,000 miles wouldn’t be so bad if I was riding in that.” The sick, injured and infants rode in the wagon, everyone else walked. There simply wasn’t room and this helped ease the burden on the livestock.
Proceed to the next stop to learn about a major landmark on the trail and where you can walk in an authentic section of the Oregon Trail.
Description
Stop 9 of the Oregon Trail Pathway Audio Tour.
Credit
Audio recording by Ray Richards
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