Conestoga wagon
The Conestoga Wagon is a horse-drawn large heavy broad-wheeled covered freight carrier
used especially for 100 years during America's Westward Expansion. According to its size, it could transport loads from 3 to 6 tons, and for the same reason was drawn by between 4 to 7 horses. It was the best known supply wagon of its time.
History
The Conestoga Wagon was one of the best designed transport wagons that took part in the development of the West. The first one appeared in Pennsylvania around 1750 and was thought
to have been introduced by the first Dutch settlers in that area, while its name obviously
came from the Conestoga Valley in that region. After the War of Independence it was used to
open up commerce as far as Pittsburg. Its trade then extended as far as Ohio in 1820 and
rates charged at that time were roughly one dollar per 100 pounds per 100 miles with
distances covered at about 15 miles per day.
The main difference between the Conestoga and other wagons of its kind was the most graceful
and curved lines of its structure which made it recogniseable even from a distance.
