Editing Chuckwagon (section)

== History and description ==

[[File:Chuckwagon Texas 1900.jpg|thumb|Chuckwagon on a Texas roundup, 1900]]
While some form of [[mobile kitchen|mobile kitchens]] had existed for generations, the invention of the chuckwagon is attributed to [[Charles Goodnight]], a Texas rancher known as the "father of the Texas Panhandle,"<ref>In the Driftway. (1928). [Article]. Nation, 126(3281), 589-590.</ref> who introduced the concept in 1866.<ref>{{Cite web|title=American Chuck Wagon Association: The Invention of the Chuck Wagon|url=http://americanchuckwagon.org/chuck-wagon-invention.html|access-date=2021-11-05|website=americanchuckwagon.org|archive-date=2021-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904014407/http://www.americanchuckwagon.org/chuck-wagon-invention.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="Harding" /> After the [[American Civil War]], the beef market in Texas expanded. Some cattlemen herded cattle in parts of the country that did not have railroads, requiring them to be fed on the road for months at a time.<ref>{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Bill|title=American Chuck Wagon Association|url=http://americanchuckwagon.org/chuck-wagon-history.html|access-date=2014-10-30|archive-date=2011-09-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902052644/http://americanchuckwagon.org/chuck-wagon-history.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Goodnight modified a [[Studebaker#18th-century colonial family business|Studebaker]]-manufactured [[covered wagon]], a durable Civil War army-surplus wagon, to suit the needs of cowboys [[Cattle drives in the United States|driving cattle]] from Texas to sell in New Mexico. He added a "chuck box" to the back of the wagon, with drawers and shelves for storage space and a hinged lid to provide a flat working surface. A water barrel was also attached to the wagon and canvas was hung underneath to carry firewood.  A wagon box was used to store cooking supplies and cowboys' personal items.<ref name=Harding>{{cite web |url=http://www.hardingcounty.org/people/charles_goodnight.htm |title=Charles Goodnight |last=Garrison |first=Mary Helen |work=Harding County, NM |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002141502/http://www.hardingcounty.org/people/charles_goodnight.htm |archive-date=2011-10-02 }}</ref>

Chuckwagon food typically included easy-to-preserve items such as [[baked bean|baked beans]], [[Curing (food preservation)|salted meats]], [[coffee]], and [[sourdough]] [[biscuits]]. Food would also be gathered ''en route''. There were no fresh fruit, vegetables, or eggs available, and meat was not fresh unless an animal was injured during the drive and therefore had to be killed. The meats were greasy cloth-wrapped bacon, salt pork, and beef, usually dried, salted or smoked.<ref>Sharpe, P. (1996). Camping it up. [Article]. Texas Monthly, 24(9), 92.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/from-chuck-wagons-to-pushcarts-the-history-of-the-food-truck | title=From Chuck Wagons to Pushcarts: The History of the Food Truck | publisher=HISTORY.com (A&E Television Networks) | date=August 8, 2014 | access-date=13 December 2014 | author=Butler, Stephanie | archive-date=14 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214235120/http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/from-chuck-wagons-to-pushcarts-the-history-of-the-food-truck | url-status=live }}</ref>  On cattle drives, it was common for the "cookie" who ran the wagon to be second in authority only to the "trailboss." The cookie would often act as cook, barber, dentist, and banker.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phudpucker.com/bluebonn/chuck%20wagon.htm |title=Chuck Wagon |publisher=Phudpucker.com |access-date=2010-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509022956/http://www.phudpucker.com/bluebonn/chuck%20wagon.htm |archive-date=2008-05-09 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

Doug Hansen, a contemporary restorer of old chuckwagons and maker of replicas, describes a chuck wagon as "a factory made-vehicle that [was] retrofitted with the chuck wagon equipment, to support a cowboss and his dozen wranglers in a cross-country trek." He says it takes about 750 man-hours to construct a new chuckwagon.{{r|ewbank}}

{{Blockquote |text=On the back of the wagon, they bolt in the chuck box, ... a combined cupboard and workspace that folds down as a work table. It stores cooking utensils, spices, and essential ingredients, such as dried beans and coffee. ... Underneath the chuck box [is] a pan boot to hold heavy pots and pans, such as a Dutch oven, which could bake well when surrounded by coals. ... [C]arrying fuel, food, cooking implements, a water barrel, and bedding ... loaded chuck wagons could weigh several tons.{{r|ewbank}} }}