Conestoga wagon

English

Conestoga wagon hauled by oxen

Etymology

Perhaps introduced by settlers from the Conestoga Valley of Pennsylvania in about 1725, the pattern was later developed for heavy wagons manufactured by the Studebaker brothers.

Noun

Conestoga wagon (plural Conestoga wagons)

1. A heavy, freight-hauling cart with a canvas cover drawn by mules, oxen or horses. It should not be confused with the lighter prairie schooner that was used extensively during the westward expansion of the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries.
   • 1866, Stewart Pearce, Annals of Luzerne County: A Record of Interesting Events, Traditions, and Anecdotes, J. B. Lippincott & Co., page 344:

     During the summer and fall the covered broad-wheeled Conestoga wagons, moved by four or six splendid draught-horses, were constantly employed in transporting the productions of the county to market.

See also

• prairie schooner