Food may be one of the most fascinating topics of the trail. Then again, it’s me. I love cooking. And I have my whole Dinner at 1800 thing…so maybe I am biased. Nevertheless, I shall proceed.
Anyone who has studied the trail knows there is the basic list of supplies that emigrants were supposed to take with them. Depending on the source and the museum, the guidance differed slightly-or sometimes a lot, so I am going to share the recommendations from the 1858 Wagon Road Guidebook that I used for my novel.
Per Person:
- 50 pounds of flour
- 25 pounds of cornmeal
- 50 pounds of crackers or pilot bread
- 50 pounds of hams
- 25 pounds of bacon
- 10 pounds of butter
- 5 pounds of dried beef
- 20 pounds of coffee
- 30 pounds of sugar
- 5 pounds of rice
- 5 pounds of beans
- 5 pounds of cheese
I was going to summarize what the rest of the recommendations said, but to be honest, it is more fun coming in 1858 language, so I’m going to copy it here for you:
“In this table we have given more weight of hams than bacon, because we found that small hams kept perfectly good for the entire journey, and was almost always preferred to fat bacon. Many omit to take butter, but such as do, invariably consider it a luxury when they can get it, before they have been a month out. Have it in a tight wooden firkin, in the middle and bottom of your wagon and there is no difficulty.
In this estimate for one hundred days, we have left twenty pounds to be made up of pickles, dried fruits, tea, salt, vinegar and whisky, etc., but we don’t advise you to take whisky, though we would certainly take two quarts and only two, to each man, of the best brandy we could get; if for no other reason than this, there are a few, though only a few, venomous reptiles and rattlesnakes on the way; and for the bite of which, brandy is known to be the best available remedy upon the plains. Whisky might answer nearly as well, and on one account may be better; for we are not at all sure, but to use a little every day as a preventative, it might kill the snake that did the biting.”
The National Wagon Road Guide by William Wadsworth
Not going to lie, I laughed pretty hard at the idea that having whisky every day could kill a snake that dared bite you.
So, this is representative of a basic list that an emigrant should bring, but was by no means necessarily all they brought. I am honestly amazed at the variety of food you run into when reading the diaries, and the list certainly doesn’t account for all the game that would be hunted or wild berries and herbs that would be collected. More than one diary mentions picking wild berries and making pies from them.
At first, on the journey, the emigrants actually ate fairly well for the most part. It was really as they got further along and food ran out or spoiled that slowly, but surely, a majority of them ended up going down to beans and bacon or bacon and beans.
But what did they actually make out of all these ingredients? A surprising variety, but some included:
- Bread, of all types, cooked in a dutch oven or skillet depending on whether it was risen or quick bread
- Cornbread and johnny cakes
- Beans cooked with rice, bacon, or added to stews
- Speaking of stews, lots of soups and stews, usually with wild game
- Pies and jams made with dried or wild berries
- Boiled or baked puddings
That’s just a smattering of the types of food they could have made and were mentioned in diaries. Some of my favorite descriptors, however, were those of July 4th feasts, which emigrants usually made a point to celebrate no matter what, and pulled out all the stops. One example is from William Swain, who traveled the trail in 1849:
“Dinner consisted of: ham, beans, boiled and baked; biscuits; john cake; apple pie; sweet cake; rice pudding; pickles; vinegar; pepper sauce and mustard; coffee; sugar and milk.”
Wagon Wheel Kitchens by Jacqueline Williams
I could honestly go on and on about different foods and the nuances thereof, but since my goal was just to give an overview, I’ll leave it here, and don’t forget to check out my On The Trail Dinner at 1800 for more hands-on experiences!
Resources
- Years of research
- Williams, Jacqueline B. Wagon Wheel Kitchens, 1993.
- Internet Archive. “The National Wagon Road Guide : Wadsworth, William : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive,” 1858. https://archive.org/details/GR_4502.
- Featured picture is from our overnight wagon trek when we did the trail a few years ago!
Forest Idylls 
When I first read this list I was thinking it was a lot of food. Then I really thought about it – 5 lb of rice? I think we can go through that in a month easy with just four people in my house. And that’s with all of the rest of the food we have available to us. I can see where this actually would seem like a lot when they left but certainly would dwindle fast. And that’s if nothing happened to their supply of food – for instance, nothing got wet or stolen or bug infested. Thank you for putting all this information together for us. I found it very interesting. Part of me wants to buy everything and put it away for our own storage :-). Also, I absolutely love your Dinner at 1800 Reels!
By the way, I’m not able to see the featured picture that you reference. The one that you took on your journey when you follow the trail a few years ago?
Thank you!
Yes – I agree! It seems like a lot until you break it down. And, not going to lie, Daniel and I were inspired to add a few of these things to our emergency food.
Thank you – I am so glad you enjoy the reels! I have a lot of fun putting them together!
Ah, yes – the featured picture only shows on the main blog page above the title of the post. I’ll go ahead and update the post to include it here as well!