Traveling in the Early 1800s

Did you know …

 

Early settlers dug canals for easier traveling. Lakes and rivers supplied the water for the canals. Canal boats carried passengers and cargo.

Roads in poor condition

The roads were mostly clay or dirt. Wagon wheels stuck in the mud when it rained.

The early pioneers didn’t often consider the steepness of a hill when planning a road, so traveling along steep, muddy, and rocky roads was difficult.

Traveling by stagecoach

Four horses usually pulled the old stagecoaches which might carry twelve to fifteen passengers and the mail bags.

Stagecoach drivers blasted a loud horn upon arriving or leaving. Villagers often gathered to greet passengers.

Public mail on horseback

Though the mail sometimes arrived by stage, horseback riders took the smaller routes.

Covered wagons haul goods

Four or six-horse teams pulled covered wagons with the driver riding the near wheel horse. These wagons hauled goods from eastern cities to country stores.

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

Sources

Welker, Martin. 1830’s Farm Life in Central Ohio, Clapper’s Print, 2005.