Early Conestoga Pennsylvania Tar Bucket Neat

Oh my goodness, look what I found and am so excited to present this unique offering to you today. There is not only enthralling history to relay about his piece but I can only imagine the countless miles this bucket traveled hanging near the axle of a Conestoga wagon! It stood at the ready and was certainly a useful piece that aided in maintaining the wheels for future travels! There is a reason that we have an old adage like “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” The wooden axles and wheels on a wagon could break down or seize up without being properly greased. This wooden grease bucket had a place to call home hanging near the oak axle of a Conestoga Wagon. Grease buckets were usually fashioned from wood, leather or canvas and contained tar and grease made of animal tallow. The tar helped hold the wheels in place and by incorporating the use of grease this reduced the possibilities of friction related problems. The following is a very interesting piece of information regarding Conestog