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Chuckwagon LbNA #44889

Owner:Boots Tex
Plant date:Dec 6, 2008
Location:
City:Throckmorton
County:Throckmorton
State:Texas
Boxes:1
Found by: Sweet 'n' Spicy
Last found:Dec 28, 2021
Status:FFFFF
Last edited:Jan 31, 2020
The blazing sun had not yet cleared the horizon when the penetrating smell of strong black coffee began to fill the air around the campsite. Cookie, as the wagon chef was often called, was rattling his pots and pans so that the cowboys knew that the evening meal was not too far away. One by one they sauntered toward the chuck wagon, anticipating the nourishment ahead. Cookie had been up since 3 a.m. as he pinched off the last of the sourdough biscuits and placed them in one of the big dutch ovens to rise, he was already planning the next day's meals in his mind. With any luck, the weather would hold for a day or two, and he wouldn't have to cook in the rain. He might even be able to make a treat of a peach pie. When cookie finished cooking, he pronounced the food ready by yelling, "Chuck away, come an' get it!" Another meal at the chuck wagon had begun. Although cattle drives took place in the United States as early as the 1790's, the chuck wagon tradition didn't develop until after the Civil War, when the opening of the northern markets expanded the western cattle industry. The need for some sort of mobile kitchen was obvious: Large trail drives required men, and men required large amounts of food. Charles Goodnight is credited with inventing the chuck wagon. In 1866 he and his partner, Oliver Loving, made preparations to take a herd of 2,000 longhorn cattle from near fort Belknap in northern Texas, to Denver. Goodnight purchased a government wagon and had it completely rebuilt according to his specifications in seasoned bois d'arc, the toughest wood available. The distinguishing feature of the wagon was the sloping box on the rear with hinged lid that lowered to become a cook's worktable. The box was fitted to the width of the wagon and contained shelves and drawers for holding food and utensils. To the cowboys, "chuck" was food, so the box was called a chuck box and the wagon became known as a chuck wagon.   Goodnight's early prototype of the chuck wagon was copied widely and changed little in the years to follow. Most chuck wagons had the same basic design. They were large, sturdy, four-wheeled wagons with bows across the top covered with waterproof sheets. There was usually a cowhide stretched beneath the wagon bed and fastened at the corners; it was used to carry wood or cow chips. In the front of some of the wagons was a jockey box, which was used for storing tools and heavier equipment needed on the trail.

Directions:
Directions revised 1-30-2020. Thanks to The Huntress and Quiet Place for rescuing and relocating the box.

Throckmorton is located on Highway 283 in Throckmorton County, Texas. If you are traveling north, go through town and look for a green sign on the left that points right to Throckmorton Cemetery. Turn east on E. Fifth St. When it ends, turn right on N. Benjamin, then left on E. Fourth St. Go through the arched gate and turn at the 4th road to your left at the large, white headstone for Smith flanked by two cedar trees. The Chuckwagon is hiding in the crook of the tree on the left covered by a rock and sticks.