The Covered Wagon

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Four Mile’s covered wagon is a restored wagon from the 1800s. It doesn't move, but you can gently explore its interior. This covered wagon is the average size of a wagon pioneers would have traveled in. They packed mostly necessities, and had to choose what would be left behind. Heavy items would often be abandoned along the trails. Travelers had to bring enough food to last at least six months. Travelers would usually leave on the journey in late winter, when rivers and lakes were still frozen over. Pioneers would travel from the east along different trails. The Oregon Trail never came through Colorado, but it was home to many other trails. The Cherokee Trail runs right through the park.

Images

Interior of the Covered Wagon

The Covered Wagon

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The journey was not always safe, and many would die along the way. The Booth family lost their three-year-old daughter Emma on their journey from Wisconsin to Colorado when she fell out of the wagon and was killed.

Covered wagons would be so full of items that there would be no room for riding. Adults or older teens would drive the wagons while the rest walked. They would walk at least seven to ten miles a day during their journey. When they stopped to make camp, everyone had a job to do. Younger children would often look for fuel sources such as wood and bison chips. Bison chips were dried bison poop and made an excellent fuel source if no wood was to be found- which was often the case on the plains. Water had to be hauled in buckets from nearby creeks or rivers, and laundry could be washed if the travelers planned on being in the area for more than a day.

The wagons would be parked in a large circle, which provided protection from wild animals and unsavory characters.

Sources

Four Mile Historic Park Collections

The Wagon - Learn about Covered Wagons used on the Oregon/California National Trail

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Four Mile Historic Park Collections

Additional Information

Covered Wagons