Figure 2. — Straki-.s Bf.forf. Biaxt; Completely 

 Unearthf.d. Stiakcs arc sections of wagon tire, 

 equal in number to ihc felloes of the wheel. 



road from Shippcnsburg to the forks of the Youghio- 

 ghcny,** where it was to meet with Braddock's road. 

 When word came back to the settlements that Indians 

 had killed several of Burd's wagoners, recruiting 

 became still more difficult. The alarm became so 

 great that the road builders threatened to leave if 

 protection was not sent them. Accordingly, Captain 

 Hogg was sent with his company from Braddock's 

 army to cover them.' 



The farm wagons used in these operations were 

 often referred to as Conestoga wagons.'" This term 

 was apparently in general use at least as early as 

 1750, when the term "Dutch Wagon" was also used 

 in referring to this particular type of vehicle." The 



'This is the modern spclliiii,'. .\mone; those used in 1755 

 were Yoxhio Geni and Ohiogany. 



"Pennsylvania Archives, ser. 1, vol. 2, Shipprn to Allen, June 

 30, 1755. Also, Ormc's Journal, in Sargent, op.cit. (footnote 2), 

 p. 329. 



'" Originally spelled Concstogoe. The first known reference 

 to a Conestoga wagon appears under date of 1717 in James 

 Logan's "Account Book, 1712-1719," the manuscript original 

 of which is in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in Phila- 

 delphia. It is likely that the reference was only to a wagon 

 from Conestogoe, and not to a definite type of vehicle. 



" The term seems to have been in common use by 1750 since 

 a tavern in Philadelphia, called "The Sign of the Conestogoe 

 Waggon," was mentioned in an advertisement in the Pennsyl- 

 vania Gazftte, February 5, 1750, but another advertisement, 

 (ibid., February 12, 1750), in referring to what was apparently 

 the same establishment, uses the term "Dutch Waggon." 



Figure 3. — .Six .Strakes .^RRA^■GED in a Circle, as 

 they would encompass a 12-spoke wheel. In the 

 center are two e.\tra strakes, two hub bands, and a 



hub bo.xing (the smaller ring). 



C^oncstoga, deri\ing its name from the Conestoga 

 valley near Lancaster, was apparently a Penn.sylvania 

 adaptation of the English wagon. '^ Unfortunately 

 there are no existing specimens of early wagons of 

 whose age we can be certain, and the few wagon 

 fragments that have been unearthed are insufficient 

 to justify any conclusions. A number of strakes '^ 

 were found in Edmund's Swamp (figs. 2-5), on the 

 route of the Forbes expedition in 1758. These indicate 

 a wheel diameter of 64 inches and a tire 2 inches 

 wide.'* The 2-inch tires are undoubtedly relics of 

 a farmer's wagon, since the various military vehicles 

 had tires no less than ?> inches and often on the 

 heavier tyjies 4 inches wide. The use of strakes also 



'- It is not certain at this time whether Engli.sh or (Jerrnan 

 styles influenced the Conestoga wagon most. Judging from 

 some early English wagons still in CNistence, it would appear 

 that some of these lines were followed. Even today some 

 farmers, and those who have been close to the wagon and its 

 use, frequently refer to the Conestoga type as "English wagons." 



I' Strakes arc sections of wagon tire, equal in number to the 

 felloes of a wheel. On early vehicles the tires were put on in 

 sections and spiked in place. Later, one endless tire was 

 "sweated" on, by being heated, fitted on the wluel. and 

 cooled in place. 



'* Found in 1953 by the Field Corps for Historical Research, 

 these strakes are obviously from rear wheels. Though dimen- 

 sions were by no means standardized, front wheels were always 

 smaller, so that in turning the wagon the tires would be less 

 likely to rub the sides of the wagon box. 



144 



BULLETIN 218: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



