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Buckboard

American flat carriage or wagon with no springs

Buckboard

American flat carriage or wagon with no springs

Buckboard
Duke's cigarettes advertising insert card, 1850–1920

A buckboard is a four-wheeled wagon of simple construction meant to be drawn by a horse or other large animal. A distinctly American utility vehicle, the buckboard has no springs between the body and the axles. The suspension is provided by the flexible floorboards of the body and a elliptical (leaf) springs under the seat(s). The buckboard has no sideboards on the body, leaving the floor quite mobile. In rough terrain, the floor can flex and "buck", lending the vehicle its name.

The buckboard is steered by its front wheels, which are connected by a single axle. The front and rear axle are connected by a platform of one or more boards to which the front axle is connected on a pivoting joint at its midpoint. A buckboard wagon often carries a seat for a driver.

Invention

The buckboard was invented by Reverend Cyrus Comstock, a travelling preacher living in Lewis, Essex County, New York who established many churches in the area during the early 1800s.

Originally designed for personal transportation in the Adirondack Mountains, these vehicles were widely used in newly settled regions of the United States.

Legacy

In the early 20th century, as horse-drawn vehicles were supplanted by the motor car, the term 'buckboard' was also used in reference to a passenger car (usually a 'tourer') from which the rear body had been removed and replaced with a load-carrying bed. These home-built dual-purpose passenger- and load-carrying vehicles were the precursors of the factory-built 'utility' or 'pickup truck'.

A further "buckboard" example are Cyclecars, such as the Smith Flyer, that were also referred to as 'Buckboard Cars'.

The community of Rowland Heights, California has an annual parade commemorating Buckboard Days.

References

References

  1. "Buckboard".
  2. Royce, Caroline Halstead. (1902). "Bessboro: a history of Westport, Essex Co., N.Y.". Open Library.
  3. (1880). "Report of the Proceedings at the Memorial Meeting in Honor of the Late Mr. Joseph Andrews, (engraver)". David Clapp & Son.
  4. "Buckboard". Wernerwagonworks.com.
  5. Smith, D.J.M.. (1988). "A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles". J. A. Allen & Co. Ltd..
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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