Buckboard

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Duke's cigarettes advertising insert card, 1850-1920

Contemporary buckboard, Farmington Hills, Michigan

A buckboard is a four-wheeled wagon of simple construction meant to be drawn by a horse or other large animal.^[1] The "buckboard" is the front-most board on the wagon that could act as both a footrest for the driver and protection for the driver from the horse's rear hooves in case of a "buck". The buckboard is steered by its front wheels, which are connected to each other 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. Such a seat may be supported by springs. The main platform between axles is not suspended by springs like a carriage. Made in the 18th century around the same time as carriages.
Originally designed for personal transportation in mountain regions, these distinctively American vehicles were widely used in newly settled regions of the United States.^[2]
Some Cyclecars e.g. the Smith Flyer were also referred to as 'Buckboard Cars".

References

^ "buckboard: Definition from". Answers.com. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
^ "Buckboard". Wernerwagonworks.com. Retrieved 2010-12-13.

External links

Media related to Buckboards at Wikimedia Commons

Picture of buckboard wagon in downtown Hunstville, Tx (1870's) at the University of Houston Digital Library

Categories:

Wagons

end quote from:

Wikipedia under the heading "buckboard"

I was interested to find out that the word "buckboard" is also associated with the word "dashboard" because they are both names for the board that protects the driver of a carriage from mud and water and horse poop being slung up into their faces. However, in this case the word "Buckboard" came also to mean the kind of open carriage that a "Pick-up" truck became when this evolved into a truck for carrying loads.