Coffey County Historical Society & Museum

Prairie Schooner.

This wagon was patterned from the Conestoga style wagon, that was used by settlers to cross the Appalachian Mountains.  Pioneers soon realized that the Conestoga wagons were too big and heavy to be used on the Oregon Trail, so they made a smaller version and referred to it as the "Prairie Schooner".  

The overall height of our wagon is 9 feet and 4 inches and with it's tongue and neck yoke attached, the length is 23 feet.  Cottonwood, which is the state tree of Kansas and is often found along rivers and creek bottoms, was used for all the boards in the restoration of the wagon.  Wagon rivets were used throughout with no screws or modern fastenings used.  The original paint on the gear was no longer present so it was repainted.  The wagon cover is made of cotton canvas and would have been tied to the sides of the wagon bed to protect the pioneers from rain and dust.  If it got too hot inside the wagon, the cover would sometimes be rolled back.

Displayed along with and inside the wagon are many interesting accessories; including a leverage style wagon jack which fits neatly for transport on the yoke in front of the rear axle.  There is also a 15 gallon oak water barrel mounted on the left side of the wagon and a tar bucket made from a solid section of a small ash tree trunk hanging on the back of the wooded axle.  Mounted on the right side of the wagon is a kitchen with an antique coffee grinder.  The kitchen was really only a storage box that contains various kitchen articles such as pots, pans, salt, coffee, etc.  At the front of the wagon and under the footrest you will discover a toolbox, equipped with various tools that pioneers would have used as they made their long journey westward.

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Copyright © 2007 Coffey County Historical Society & Museum
Last modified: April 08, 2007