Red River cart squeal

The sound of a replica Red River cart in motion. Archivist Mark Peihl of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County explains, "We have in our collection a wonderful replica cart built by John Hall and Eddie Gudmundson. It’s a very typical looking cart. It weighs about 400 pounds and could carry 800 pounds. The heart of the cart is a pair of heavy, parallel, twelve-foot-long shafts. The single draft animal stood between the shafts to pull. The box rests on the shafts, mortised to keep it in place. The corner posts and side rails of the box are ingeniously located to allow side boards to be slipped in to keep objects from falling out of the cart. The all-wood carts were easy to repair with wood found along the route. The hubs were left ungreased––trail dust would mix with lubricants and work like sandpaper. So they squeaked. Of the dozens of cart trip descriptions I’ve read, every one mentions the annoying squeal of the carts." Used with the permission of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County.

Black and white photograph of Red River carts, 1862–1875. Photograph by Whitney’s Gallery.

Red River carts

Red River carts, 1862–1875. Photograph by Whitney’s Gallery.

Black and white photograph of a camp with Red River carts, ca. 1860.

Red River carts in camp

A camp with Red River carts, ca. 1860.

Red River carts loading at trading house, St. Paul

Red River carts loading at trading house, St. Paul

Red River Carts loading supplies at a trading house in St. Paul, 1854.

Red River Lumber Company logo

Red River Lumber Company logo

The earliest known visual representation of Paul Bunyan: the logo of the Red River Lumber Company, designed in 1914 by William B. Laughead. From The Marvelous Exploits of Paul Bunyan (Minneapolis: Red River Lumber Company, 1922), 3.

Black and white photograph of a man and a Red River cart train, ca. 1859. Photograph by Martin’s Gallery.

Red River train, St. Paul

A man and a Red River cart train, ca. 1859. Photograph by Martin’s Gallery.

Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association display

Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association display

A table at an event promoting the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association, 1981. From the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association records, 1919–1994, Northwest Minnesota Historical Center, Moorhead. Used with the permission of Northwest Minnesota Historical Center.

Black and white photograph of Red Wing, c.1870.

Red Wing

The Mississippi River location of Red Wing, the Goodhue County seat, made it an early shipping point for Minnesota wheat. This photo of the city riverfront shows grain barges at anchorage, c.1870.

Late 1860s photograph showing barges along Red Wing's Mississippi River waterfront awaiting wheat for shipment to customers downriver.

Red Wing

This late 1860s photograph shows barges along Red Wing's Mississippi River waterfront awaiting wheat for shipment to customers downriver.

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