Early Land Transportation Vocabulary

Blacksmith Shop-  At the shop, horses and oxen are shoed.  Iron tools for the house, farm, and workshop are made and repaired by the blacksmith.

Buggy-  A light, four-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage with a single seat

Coach/Stagecoach-  A large, four-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle.  It was often used to take people and mail between cities, the way buses and airplanes are used today.  Stagecoaches were enclosed and many had space on top, and a trunk-rack at the rear to hold baggage.

Conestoga Wagon-  A four-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle used for carrying heavy loads.  It has a white canvas top which is stretched over a wooden framework.  Conestoga wagons were often used by farmers for transporting their produce to market.

Delivery Wagon- In the past, many products (including groceries, meat, milk, ice, coal, and baked goods) could be delivered by wagon.  Although horse and wagon was the most common type of delivery vehicle, with heavy snowfalls, many merchants switched to horse-drawn sleds to deliver their products.

Hitching Post- An iron or wooden post with one or more rings on it.  It is set into the ground and horses are tied, or "hitched" to it to keep them from wandering away.  Hitching posts help people to park their horses.

Horse Trough- A tub made of stone, brick, cast iron, concrete, or a hollowed out log; it is filled with water from which the horses drink.

Ice Wagon- A type of delivery wagon.  Before people had refrigerators to keep things cold, they used blocks of ice.  The ice wagons delivered blocks of ice to stores and homes.  Cards with large numbers, visible from the street, told the ice man how many pounds of ice to deliver to a house.

Livery Stable- Before there were garages and parking lots for cars, there were livery stables for vehicles and horses.  Livery stables were usually located downtown, often near a hotel where travelers could leave their horses overnight.  People could also rent horses, buggies, and saddles from a livery stable.

Ox- A steer which has been trained for work.  Ox are generally used in pairs called "oxen."  They might be useful to pull wagons, plant fields, and do other strenuous work.

Transportation- A way of taking people and things from place to place.  Trains, bicycles,

automobiles, boats, and airplanes are all examples of transportation.

Wagon works- A place where horse-drawn, wheeled vehicles were made and repaired.

Courtesy of the Warren County Historical Society