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It’s probable that the domestication of animals - particularly the ox and the horse,
led to the invention of the wheel. Men could now travel faster, and carry more gear
than they could on foot. The travois was probably the precursor of the wagon, and
was the first innovation allowing animals to carry more than could be carried on
their backs. The travois, simply one pole secured to each side of an animal and
drug along behind, greatly increased the amount of weight an animal could carry.
However, as good as it was, the travois was still pretty inefficient. During prehistoric times, large heavy items were rolled from place to place with logs placed under them. No one knows for sure, but it’s feasible that the idea for the wheel came from this practice. At any rate, someone came up with the concept of adding wheels to the travois sometime before 3500 BC. This is when we have our first archeological evidence for wheeled vehicles. Thus, the first wheeled vehicles were probably travois transformed into carts, to be pulled by a single animal. This was the first developement in the history of the wagon. The next important change to take place was the four wheeled wagon. It could be easily pulled by more than one animal, was more stabile than the cart, and could handle more weight. By 100 BC wagons were in general use, and served mankind as our primary land transportation for almost 2000 years. Soon after their inception, wagons were being designed and built for many different purposes. Springs were added to wagons used to haul passengers. Wagons used for freight were designed with other features. The evolution of the passenger coach provided more comforts for travelers. It had a roof and seating for from four to six people. Hungary is thought to be the birthplace of the coach, dating from about the 1400’s. Its use gradually spread over Europe and to England by about 1555. Its use in colonial America was limited by roads - there weren’t many roads good enough to allow their use. Only Boston and New York had roads improved enough to permit travel by coach. The America in this historical period was a far different place than the nation we know today. Roads were nonexistent to poor. Travel was difficult and required rugged wagons. The Conestoga Wagon was designed to be used under these difficult conditions. It originated in the Conestega Creek region of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. It was a workhorse, carrying up to six tons of freight, and used up to six horses to draw it. Its canvas top protected the flour, iron, wheat, tobacco, pottery or other commodity it carried from rain and snow. The Conestoga Wagon was the primary wagon for the transportation of freight during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, becoming a very important part of our history. The Conestoga Wagon served as the model for a later wagon - the famed covered wagon, or prairie schooner which was used by countless pioneers settling the vast American West. The prairie schooner had a flatter body and shorter sides than the Conestaga wagon. It was nicknamed the prarie schooner because from a distance the white canvas top on the wagon looked like a schooner ship on the prairie. The prairie schooner was probably the most important wagon in American history. It served as transportation, home, boat, protection from elements and Indian attacks, and hospital for thousands of immigrants heading West. Another legendary American wagon was the stage coach. The stage coach was preceded by the stage wagon. In this wagon there were no springs to cushion the bumps in the roads, and the seats were backless. The most famous of these was called the ‘Flying Machine’, which could travel the ninety miles between Philadelphia and New York in a day and a half! They had canvass tops for protection from the rain. The classic ‘stage coach’ was the Concord coach manufactured in Concord, New Hampshire from about 1827 until 1910. This coach used six to eight horses to pull up to nine passengers on three inside seats. A driver and armed guard, if necessary, sat on the roof. The stage coach and prarie schooner are the best known wagons in American history, and there are many colorful legends surrounding them. These wagons were surely some of the more influential vehicles used for transportation of men and supplies in the history of the nation. History Of The Steam Engine Back To Transportation History |