"In the half century following the War of 1812, America went canal crazy, and a network of four thousand miles of artificial waterways was built in the eastern half of the country so as to provide a safe, adequate, and reasonably cheap system of transportation. These canals helped end the isolation of great sections of the country, not only opening a market for the farmer, back-country mills, and factories, but also providing employment for thousands of men - owners, captains, boaters, lock tenders, and weighmasters - most of whom were hard drinking and violent tempered, and often the prey of harpies and their criminal consorts. Life on the canal was seldom placid, and these men regarded themselves a breed apart from the rustics with whom they came into daily contact...." [from the dust jacket]. This book is generously illustrated.
Chapters: 1. How and where it began/ 2. Conecticutt River Canals/ 3. The Blackstone and other Yankee canals/ 4. Down Chesapeake way/ 5. The Dixie canals/ 6. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal/ 7. The James River and Kanawha Canal/ 8. The Delaware and Hudson Canal/ 9. The Lehigh Valley Canal/ 10. The Morris and Delaware Division Canals
Chapters: The origin of the Conestoga wagon and its name /// Some wagons belonging to Dutch settlers at the foot of a mountain called the Blue Ridge /// the farm wagon at Mount Vernon and others in the province of Pennsylvania /// Some Conestoga wagons during the Revolutionary War and in the years following // Conestoga wagon bells // Glory of wagoning and the road to the west /// Conestoga wagon construction /// Conestoga wagon iron /// Conestoga six horse team and the harness /// Sundry Conestoga wagons and wagoners /// The heyday of wagoning /// Some Conestoga wagons and wagoners in Franklin County, Pa.
G. Shumway and Early American Industries Association
Date of Publication
[1966]
Physical Description
279 p.
Notes
Includes bibliographies.
Contents
The Conestoga wagon's place in history. The emergence of an American wagon in colonial Pennsylvania -- General Braddock's wagons -- Routes, roads, and turnpikes -- Accounts of travel on the road -- Taverns along the way -- Lore of the wagoners -- Men who made the wagons -- The Conestoga horse, and team. The Conestoga horse -- The team and its control / Albert I. Drachman -- Harnesses and accessories -- The Conestoga wagon. Nomenclature of wagon parts -- The building of a wagon / William Henry Stanton -- Wagon beds or boxes -- Running gear -- Wagon accessories.
xi, 206 p. illus., facsims., maps (1 fold.) 27 cm.
Notes
Includes bibliographies.
Contents
Chapters Include :The Conestoga Wagon- a definitionGeneral Braddock's Wagons / Accounts of Travel on the road / Taverns along the way / Lore of the Wagoners / Men Who Made the Wagons / The Conestoga Horse / Nomenclarure of Wagon Parts / The Building of a Wagon
