Early Texas Freighting

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Early Texas Freighting, right here in Matagorda County. Now before there were rail lines, before there were paved roads, before any of that — there were teamsters. And if you think hauling freight today takes nerve, you just wait.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the business of movin' goods was the business of keeping Texas alive. Outlying forts and inland towns didn't just want imports from the Gulf Coast, from the United States, from Mexico — they needed them. When that supply slackened, those settlements suffered.

Plain and simple. So who kept the goods flowing? Teamsters.

Men who looked at Indians, bandits, and Texas weather — all three — and said, that's fine, I've got a schedule to keep. One of the few regular runs was between Austin and Matagorda. Wagons rolled out of each city on the first and the fifteenth of every month, like clockwork.

That route crossed through Matagorda, Wharton, Colorado, Fayette, Bastrop, and Travis counties — a corridor of commerce cut right through the heart of the state. And over in Houston, freight moved through a major center because of its access to Galveston Bay. George T.

Howard and Charles Ogden were among the early freight men working these routes. Now let's talk about the equipment, because this is where it gets interesting. The early rigs were wooden carts — fifteen feet long, riding on two wheels that stood seven feet tall each, topped with a thatched roof.

And when it came time to grease those massive hubs? Prickly-pear leaves. You read that right.

Texas provided the problem and Texas provided the fix. Those carts and later wagons carried three thousand to seven thousand pounds of cargo, pulled by anywhere from three to six yoke of oxen or mule teams. If you wanted speed, you paid the "grass rates" for mules — faster animals, faster delivery.

But when the load got heavy and the road got rough, you called for the Prairie Schooner. Two tons of wagon, built for the worst Texas could throw at it. Caravans could run anywhere from five wagons to a hundred and fifty.

And when trouble came — or when they stopped to rest — those wagons didn't just park haphazard. They formed a round, protective corral. The trained mules took their places instantly.

Not eventually. Instantly. That's discipline born of necessity.

Teamsters also banded together for mutual assistance, because out on those roads, you looked out for one another or you didn't make it. But here's where the story turns. In 1853, the Iron Horse arrived in Texas.

The railroad. And from that moment on, the freighter began slowly to disappear from the state. Not all at once — slowly.

Like the end of something that had earned its rest. Those teamsters defied just about everything this land could muster to build and sustain a civilization out here. The prickly-pear grease, the seven-foot wheels, the corral of wagons circled against the dark — that was the infrastructure of early Texas.

Iron and mule and nerve, rolling out on the first and the fifteenth, come what may.

What the marker says

Industry that moved goods to build, sustain distant settlements in 18th-19th century Texas. Teamsters defied Indians, bandits, and Texas weather to supply outlying forts and inland towns, which suffered if imports from the Gulf Coast, U.S., or Mexico slackened. One of few regular runs was Austin-Matagorda. Wagons left each city on 1st and 15th of every month, crossing Matagorda, Wharton, Colorado, Fayette, Bastrop, and Travis counties. Houston was major Texas freight center because of access to Galveston Bay. George T. Howard and Charles Ogden were early freight men. First carts, later wagons with 3000-7000 lbs. of cargo were drawn by 3 to 6 yoke of oxen or mule teams. "Grass rates" for faster mules. Early wooden carts were 15 ft. long with two 7-ft. wheels and a thatched roof. Their hubs were greased with prickly- pear leaves. For heavy loads, rough roads, the 2-ton "Prairie Schooner" was best. Caravans varied from 5 to 150 wagons. When resting or attacked, wagons formed a round, protective corral, and trained mules took their places instantly. Teamsters often banded together for mutual assistance. With coming of the "Iron horse" in 1853, the freighter began slowly to disappear from the state.