Hand Cart: Could You Find a Handier Tool? | MORMON HISTORY | LIFE IN THE 1700'S | 

Mormon history adds some interesting details: each cart was meant to haul 500 pounds of belongings and supplies. Each participant was permitted to take 17 pounds of belongings. (That to start a new life far from easy resupply.) The first carts were poorly constructed for the task at hand. Local craftsmen used green lumber throughout. Experience along the way taught that iron parts needed to be used to strengthen axles. Frequent stops were needed to patch up or reconstruct the wagons. Maybe Peter's cart will need some blacksmith work.

Peter, you should ask Cathy to give you a ride in your beautiful, new hand cart around Kelly’s Station!!! Thank you both for all the wonderful and interesting videos this past year. Happy New Year!

Peter, how did you get by without a cart all this time? This one is a beauty! Many thanks for all your entertaining/educational vids this year. Best wished to you and yours for 2024.

Thank you for the video . As always you do a great job. I live in Utah and have known ancestors from the Martin and Willie hand cart company. I M LDS, and you hear about them in church sometimes and on the 24 th of July parade people have handcarts . Those people were very tough . But thank you so much for recognizing them .

Appreciate your efforts and dedication! My uncle has had a cart for years. Very versatile, firewood,stone, job site tools, gardening, and we have hauled many an individual promoting local living history events during parades. My father made one modeled after the boy scout design of the early 1900's. It also has the canvas hooped cover you spoke of. A dear friend has been a peddler of fresh baked goods at many local living history events in such a cart. You will wonder how you managed without one. Thanks again and keep your powder dry!

Well, I recon I just might build one of those sack carts after seeing yours! What a handy homestead tool! Thanks Peter! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania

Nicely done, Peter, and of course, Cathy's composition and camera work was top-notch as usual. That cart will probably come in handy for retrieving your hunting harvest as well! Have a Happy, Healthy, New Year!!

What a great cart you built. I could sure use one today for my property. Very nicely built. Thanks for a wee bit of history.

Hey thats nice looking cart! Great job, i like the yellow. We love ours, i put legs on it :) Have you seen the illustrations of the ones are portable gun racks?

Looks great Peter!

That's beautiful! Love the color! Cheers for now!

I'm the same age as you and born in Hertfordshire in England. My father was a plumber and I remember him pushing his tools and materials around the village on a similar handcart in the 1950's

Nice work Peter!

They are a great item. I am glad you found wheels as they are probably the hardest to come by. These wre used in to the 20th century by the early boyscouts for travel. I know in England and the US from written accounts. I would imagine them used by the scouts in most countries. We have a modern equivelent in the garden cart with bicycle wheels. Ineresting enough many scouting groups use them at large car swap meets to haul heavy items for a price. Doesn't matter if it's a country girl or a boy they can really haul heavy and bulky items. An item that like the hoe, shovel and rake are still practical and used in the 21st century.

Enjoyed it, thanks for sharing.

Nice job, Peter! Looks great!

Just a boy and his wagon 🤣 It looks handy. You need to get a goat or Lama to pull it Peter

Excellent work Peter!

Nice built! nice find for the wheels! Once again you give me the kick for getting mine together!

Beautiful wheels. Linseed oil or Tung oil ($$). But they look pretty much intact. Beautiful. Actually, using the for handcart will save them. The days are gone when people stuck a few of those wheels outside Fp decorations. ! Used to be a few dollars at farm auction. Now $100’s. And rightly so. My hand cart is similar, wheels are a little larger diameter, yours are perfect size. I made a front & back support system that folds up & legs are released using sliding wooden latch from Operator’s position

Hi old friend. Great cart. I would like to see how you built it onto the axle or attached the wheels/axle. If possible please 🙏👍

This is so neat. Watched many videos but this is the first I've commented on. Absolutely love whats shown here. Wish i knew how to do this. Wish I could live like this. Love the videos please keep them coming. May you be blessed with great health.

I have one half finished with spoked wheels from an old Fire Boss wheeled fire extinguisher. Many uses. I am excited to watch the video tonight, I am posting just on the post picture very well done.

I should build a hand cart. I find wheelbarrows hard to steer, probably due to how short I am. Beautiful work you have done once again. Thanks again for the history lesson. 😊

Thank you, Kathy and Peter for another excellent video and historical facts, I’ll share this video with my Mormon (church of latter-day, Saints) friends!!! Happy new year to you and yours

Love, Love the wagon.

A fine piece of useful equipment you got there Peter. I'm sure you'll find a lot of use for that at the fort. Nice job!

Most" excellent" presentation, my friend many thanks.....what appears to be hand wrought nails was a stand out. I wouldn't b surprised to c.u putting bear tallow on those axles.

Thank you for the video, I like the cart, you inspired me to build one. Thanks

A tool I bet you wish you would of made a long time ago. Those things are so handy a big time and back saver. Splendid Peter just splendid👍

Love the cart! For some reason those old wheels have always captured my imagination. I had several decorating my porch when I lived in KY. I am looking for that style to decorate my new wooden gates on my little living spot I have now. It won't be functional, but still have the reminiscing affect.

Beautiful craftsmanship, Peter.

Peter, your cart looks stronger and better than one you can buy, I'm sure your carts would be considered the Cadillac of carts back in the day. 👍

Beautiful build and thanks for showing milk paint! Any idea why the bed is lifted up over the axis of the wheels? Seems like the least lift or drop of the handle would shift the center of gravity drastically and be more difficult to control than if the bed was attached directly onto the wheel axis (or an actual axle)? Plus it seems like the wheel to bed connection would be more sturdy. I'm sure they had good reason for this design- what am I missing? Thank you.

Great job as always Peter. The cart is sweet i want the wheels LOL You and Cathy stay safe.

A very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to you and your family, Sir!

That was magical Peter, watching the cart come together! Great photography as usual Cathy. Say hi to Fred for me .😀

That's a great cart and a handy tool for sure! Thanks for the bit of history too!

Thank you Peter for another great video. Happy New Year to you and yours.

One of your best Peter. Hate to see this peice of art used as it is beautiful!

Another exceptional project completed!!! Happy New Year to you and your family! 🐾🙏🏻✌🏻 Slàinte Mhath 🥂

I can't believe they pushed those hand carts 1300 miles (but they did!!!)

My great great great grandfather was born under a hand cart in Sydney Nebraska.

I like history, I have only experienced this cart in a museum here in Sweden. A number of years ago I went to India where they are everywhere. It was an eye-opening experience, things that were old to me were living facts. The ancients were not stupid. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Happy NEW YEAR to all your subscribers from Nova Scotia. Some fine looking hand forged nails being used on fine looking cart.

I like the colors you used. Very fine cart im sure you'll get years of use from.

Great work on the beautiful cart, and thank you for the wee bit of history. I always learn something from you!

Good morning from Syracuse NY United States my friend and everyone else thank you for sharing live history videos

fine cart! Happy New Year from Virginia

Wouldn’t it be useful to have the back on hinges so you could dump the contents? That a great colour!

Oooooo, I want to build one also. I have so many pictures to send you guys. We have been having fun down here building.

Hand carts are indeed useful. Our muzzleloader club has 3 that we keep at our cabin for use during rendezvous when vehicles are not allowed. They are popular pieces of gear.

That is a very nice-looking cart. I told my husband we needed one of those for all of my gardening. Love the colors, too. Your skills are endless. Happy New Year to your family.

Very nice job. Was up in Vancouver bc at my uncle and aunt home.

Happy New Year Peter and Cathy!

My grade school’s janitor used a cart like yours. In the 50’s.

Love your stories

That looks a handy dandy, Peter. Trust you had a fine New Year. I've got good tidings I ate my customary boiled potato, blackeyed peas and hog jowl again. Didn't break one tooth. I was careful. It's going to be a good year.

I've pulled a handcart a few miles along trails by the Sweetwater River in Wyoming, just for the experience. On a long trek, even with a handful of people per cart, it still takes a lot of planning and cooperation to get it to work well. Otherwise, it can get kind of rough.

That's a fine cart thanks for sharing.

I need to build myself one of those carts! Thanks for sharing!

I like the cart you built Mr. Peter. Would you consider fashioning a tailgate that would allow you to dump? It would ease the unloading of some things. Maybe placing a drop leg underneath in the rear to keep it from completely tilting. Just a thought my friend. Thank you for the great videos!

I forgot to mention that I am a direct descendant of Martha Jane Knowlton Coray a Mormon Pioneer that traveled from Nauvoo IL to UT. She most likely pulled a similar hand cart out to Utah.

Thank you.

Great cart! Is the color ocher?

Great job on the cart . Add wheelwright to your skills

the boy scouts back in the 20/30's would build patrol carts/hand carts to move there camping equipment when going on long hikes and camp outs. plans can be found on line and I've thought about building one to give the grand kids rides in. Happy New Year to you

Sweet I am definitely going to build one of them...

Another winner! I was surprised when you nailed the back end on. I would have thought you would have a channel so it could be dropped in place or removed for loading/unloading. Seems like an easy enough addition...then again I'm not doing the work! I noticed 2 axles instead of one...is that standard? It sure gives a height advantage over a wheelbarrow!

Hey Peter! It may not have been a Hand Cart... but Dad made sure that all of us kids knew the many uses of & how to use a Wheel Barrow! Good memories... for the most part! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! I'm sure that you will discover that your cart will be one of the most used pieces of equipment that you'll have on your place!

Around the world they learned of wheel from... Log. The mighty log! It rolls down stairs! It holds up roofs! its Log! Log! Mighty Log!

Looks like a very useful piece of kit Peter, I was interested in the difference in travel time between the Oxen and manpower. Happy New Year to you and Cathy.

Awesome

I do like that cart!, Would love to build one, and if I can find the wheels, I will. And of course, thank you for the wee bit of history.

Great job, Peter, and it looked like you made the nails as well. Love history lesson as well. Take care and keep your powder dry

There were some reproduction hand carts at Fort Ligonier in PA used in Braddock's Ohio campaign. They were similar but has much taller and bigger wheels so they could get through mud and down overgrown trails in a hurry with heavy loads. They had multiple soldiers to pull them so I guess it worked.

Oh Peter! I would think a bit B 4 'advertising' on your side panels...asking for 'more work' when you already have a fort on the go? MERCY man! LOL! WHAT a 'fine cart' you have made there! She's a beauty! Thank goodness you an' the Empress R on wonderful terms or it could come down 2 fighting 4 it's use! I can C MANY ways U both could make use of it and I am not even of your 'time period'. Thanks dear Catherine 4 yet another fine film. Missing Fred in this one...out on the prowl with some other 'wise' feathered friends perhaps? Sad 2 think of the plight of the 'lost years of youth'...sometimes 'times' were too just too hard or maybe the peoples of such times. Have we changed much? "Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to." (Mark Twain). Health n' blessings dear ones! :)

Very nice work! Love it

Great work Peter! Wonderful addition to your historic homestead. I'd love to add a handcart to my impression. Just have to figure out the logistics of transporting it from site to site. Would certainly like to see some more detail in your axle setup. Would they be using metal axles and hubs at this point or still be using "farm fresh" wooden ones. Do you think that carts from your period would be using dimensional (sawn) lumber or the more primitive unsawn "log" style with mortise and tenon joints. Your's seems to be a more refined version rather than farm use. Nevertheless, a fine piece of useful equipment. You never cease to amaze me. Good luck to you in the upcoming new year.

Nice story but is it a one piece axle or two? I'd like to build one.

Some pinstriping with the blue paint might look nice...

The Mormon Trail, current day Interstate 80, I’ve traveled across it many times over the years and anyone who has knows the fear of breaking down even in a modern vehicle. Treacherous by today’s standards in Winter. OMG in the 1850’s.

Nice little cart. That will come in handy for a lot of things. I am assuming those are surrey wheels. They are a bit too small and delicate for a wagon. Incidentally, I misread your description at first (that happens sometimes when I don't pay attention). I thought it was talking about Mormon history in the 1700s. I thought, there were no Mormons in the 1700s and it is not like Peter to make a mistake like that.

Genius vid!

I love this cart. I think we will need to make one here. We have steep terrain with narrow paths and this would be ideal for gathering wood especially the small cooking wood that we use in the wood cook stove. Much of our property is inaccessible to a tractor and of course our lifestyle is to use as few modern things as possible and to make most of what we need by hand. Edit: we of course will have to make this cart a bit more narrow and maybe also set it up so a strong wether could also pull it.

We might need these soon if some get their way and no fossil fuel vehicles

It's a Toyota! Think I read that the Celts are credited with inventing the spoked wheel.

I love how your hand cart turned out! I wanted to share just a wee bit of my family history. My 5th Great Grandmother was an immigrant from England named Elizabeth Bradshaw (and is who I am named after). Before she came over from England her husband died and she had 2 brothers who were well off grandfather clock makers. They told her that if she would deny the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints faith they would care for her and provide for her and her 5 children. She would not deny her faith and all alone sailed to America with all her children. She was a part of the Martin hand cart company(the Martin and Wille hand cart companies are the ones who left late and suffered so). By the grace of God she made it to Utah with all of her children alive, her youngest being six years old. There is a historic site in Wyoming honoring the 2 hand cart companies. I have actually been to Martin's Cove and devil's gate Wyoming where the companies were found by rescue teams sent from the Utah Valley. I have even pulled a hand cart over and around the trail they have at that site. What an experience! The pioneers who crossed and settled the U.S. territories are amazing to me. I don't know if you are interested but there are 2 films that were made based off of journals and other historic papers that portray the different aspects of the Martin and Willie hand cart companies journey. They are called Ephraim's Rescue and 17 Miricles. They actually portray a small snipit of my 5th great Grandmother's story in them. Love your channel! Thank you for making such great content! Bless you!

Always enjoy we bits of history did the native american peoples use the hand carts

Looks Great Does Milk Paint hold up to outdoor conditions? Thanks FB

Love your cart. I bet when poeple hooked up domesticated livestock to a wagon they really thought they had something.

That thar is called a drey cart. (Or dray) this is where the term drayage comes from as opposed to ladeing.😎

❤😊😊

This would be perfect for my Regiment

Another fantastic video you guys. I have a 20th century high wheel garden cart. I absolutely love it. Other than my hoe it’s the item I use most in my gardens.

Howdy Peter Nice tool . Looks like you can put a lot of wood for a long night ..... I did not hear any squeaking ! LOL Do you only use grease on the axles to wheel ? in the time period was bear oil / fat used ? In your fort will there be a place for equipment storage ?

Great cart! How were the wheels put on?

Here's wishing you a very happy and productive 2024 : )

Oh I forgot to tell you happy new year

Pretty sweet rig. Looks like you made your own nails for it too? Pretty funny how historians decide how something so simple is invented in one place, and not multiple places, eh? As for the LDS "adventure". Our founder got executed, women and kids got murdered, largely because they were harder working and more prosperous. They had to leave to find a place of their own. Tough times, and the church had some very interesting, lively periods in its history to be sure.