Warren County Local History by Dallas Bogan |Dallas Bogan on 13
September 2004| |original article by Dallas Bogan| |Return to
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Conestoga wagon replaced horse pack trains, and were the long
distance freight carriers before the railroads were completed.
The Conestoga was first built in the middle 1700's; it was named
for the Pennsylvania valley in which it was first built. These
wagons carried most of the freight and people that moved west
over the Alleghenies from the time of the Revolutionary War
until about 1850. They were sometimes called the "camel of the
prairies." Both ends of the wagons were built higher than the
middle. The white canvas roof was high and rounded. Wheels with
the broad rims prevented bogging down in the mud. The wheels
could be removed and the wagon could be used as a boat. These
Conestoga wagons were drawn by teams of from four to six horses.
Very heavy loads were transported on the early turnpikes. The
freight wagons were very