The famous Conestoga was a freighter: the wagons and handcarts of the emigrant trails

The Conestoga wagon, the one most people picture, was used to haul freight, not people. The emigrants who headed west in covered wagons between 1841 and 1869, somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 of them, mostly used other makes. This National Park Service article describes the main choices, with the covered wagon as one of the chief means of travel and mules or oxen to pull it.

The famous Conestoga wagon was used, not by emigrants, but to haul freight. NPS photo.

Wagons of the period varied widely, and emigrants' wagons came from many places and manufacturers, so no single label fits. Enough similarities existed to compare them, and two makers stood out: Murphy and Studebaker.

Murphy wagon

Joseph Murphy began by making wagons for traders heading from Missouri to Santa Fe, then for the overland emigration, and his became the best-known wagons on the western trails. A Murphy had wheels, running gear, a box and a cover, and a straight box rather than the Conestoga's curved one. Hauling much beyond its comfortable load risked serious problems.

Oxen most often pulled it. Mules could replace them in equal number. Horses were rarely if ever used: they lacked the strength and endurance to pull a wagon 2,000 miles and needed costly supplemental feed.

The Murphy wagon at Scotts Bluff National Monument. NPS photo.

Studebaker wagon

The Studebaker brothers started in South Bend, Indiana, and their name was as recognizable on the trail as Murphy. As blacksmiths they supplied hardware to many early wagon makers, so nearly every wagon going west carried Studebaker components and spare parts. They later built wagons for emigrants and freight companies, and the family's skills extended into the modern era with the Studebaker automobile.

The Studebaker wagon at Scotts Bluff National Monument. NPS photo.

Conestoga wagon

Probably the most familiar pioneer wagon today, because films and other media use it, the Conestoga was the main choice of freighting companies shipping goods to the western frontier. The name comes from the Conestoga River Valley in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Its curved, boat-like box kept freight from shifting, and its front and rear gates angled up to keep cargo from sliding out on steep slopes. It needed a double cover of canvas, cotton sailcloth or homespun hemp, which cantilevered out a little farther than a typical emigrant wagon's to protect the cargo.

The famous Conestoga wagon. NPS photo.

The artist and photographer William Henry Jackson first traveled west in 1866 and worked as a bullwhacker hauling freight. He painted many scenes of the westward migration, often with Conestoga wagons in the foreground.

Mormon handcart

Those who could not afford a wagon had the option of a handcart, pushed or pulled by a person. It was most likely modeled on street sweepers' carts or railroad porters' luggage trolleys, and it was often seen as an economical way to bring impoverished Mormon converts to Salt Lake City. Weight limits set by the Mormon Church restricted what converts could take. A cross bar across the front let the cart be pushed or pulled, and some carts had a canvas top that made them look like miniature covered wagons. Being mostly wood, they were noisy and often broke down. From 1856 until 1860, over ten handcart companies helped approximately 3,000 Mormons reach Salt Lake City.

Mormon handcarts were used primarily by European converts. NPS photo.

Sources

• National Park Service, "Wagons on the Emigrant Trails," part of the series "The Emigrant Experience" (nps.gov article); rewritten in hubnx's own words.