By Lynn Marie Allen, Executive Director/Curator
Off on a journey exploring history and I am drawn to the story of a little girl’s memory of her ride on the covered wagon. Mattie and her family traveled from Illinois to Kansas by covered wagon. You can spend time imagining this journey for yourself. The typical covered wagon with perfect weather conditions includes the following. Each wagon would travel approximately 12 to 15 miles each day. The wagon’s trek from Illinois to Kansas is approximately 520 miles, which meant they were in the wagon for at least 43 days. Mattie’s father was A. M. Hannah, and they journeyed in October 1867. The weather could have included warm weather, rain, snow, ice, or a little bit of all! When the family arrived in Kansas, they settled on the Horton–Hiawatha road and her father traveled additional 40 miles approximately to purchase school land on what will later be the farms of Pautz and Adcock. Mattie did not describe how many other family members made this journey alongside, but she vividly imagined her family attending Horton’s first birthday celebration. As always, there is so much more to every story! Find it! Be sure to stop by and share with me what you discover! #historymysteries #travel
Forest of Words 