15 Tools That Helped Pioneers Survive on the American Frontier

American finish unapologetically glamourise the lives of the first pioneers . Through rose - colored glasses , we see Manifest Destiny as destiny , conduct our desperate ascendent across a perfectly manicured landscape painting . In reality , the frontier was a terrific , dangerous wild . And you were only as expert as the tools you carry .

groundbreaker were responsible for clear their own kingdom , building their home , defending themselves , sewing their own clothes , and trace for their own food . And the devices and tool they brought with them — severely confine by weighting and sizing — were vital lifeline to succeeding in all of those pursuits . So what were they ?

An allegorical depiction of “American progress” carries telegraph wire westward. Behind her, settlers follow with stagecoaches, conestoga wagons, and railroads, symbolizing the virtue of taming the western frontier. But in truth, such conveniences took decades to appear.

house painting : George A. Crofutt / Library Of Congress

This was the reality most settlers knew. A family in front of a typical sod house, in 1886, in Nebraska, Custer County. Instead of a plush toy the boy on the right is holding a young bull. Note the ornament high on the facade.

Photo : Solomon D. Butcher / Library Of Congress

Pioneers would make their own clothes, from shearing the wool and spinning it into thread, to actually weaving the fabric, and finally, fashioning it into a garment.

picture : Frontier Culture Museum

A spinning wheel from the 1820s.

The print below shows two women preparing supper on a small, portable stove—a relative luxury—in front of their tents, in 1866.

Image : James F. Gookins / Library Of Congress

“You need only one soap: Ivory soap,” proclaims this ad from 1898, which shows a pioneer washing with a novelty—floating! soap, at his campsite. You can observe other household objects and tools in the background as well.

Image : Strobridge & Co. Lith./Library Of Congress

Frontier utility knives: a butcher knife, a skinning knife, and a small antique paring knife.

Photo : Heritage Auctions

Farm kitchen cutlery and kitchenware.

A grain reaper was a vital piece of agricultural machinery. Invented by Cyrus H. McCormick, of Virginia, in 1831, this contraption still serves as the basis for modern-day grain harvesting machines.

A grain fanner, from the 1850s, would blow air through wheat to separate the chaff—an otherwise time-consuming task.

This illustration from 1899 shows messengers warning settlers of a Native American uprising—but note the hand-operated plow and broad axe in the picture.

Drawing : Reginald Bathurst Birch / Library Of Congress

Water crossings were another major danger, thanks to the crude ferries often used by early settlers. Here, people cross the Red River, in Texas, during a flood in 1874.

Engraving : Robert Hoskins / Library Of Congress

By the late 19th century, families were more established. Here, we see a family standing in front of sod house with a windmill—a fairly high-tech detail—inCoburg, Nebraska in 1884.

This apple crusher and cider press was also high-tech, for its time.

Some settlers were lucky enough to have brought cast iron stoves from back east—like this one, from the 1820s.

A carving bench let craftsmen whittle and carve comfortably.

Theft was common, too. This lambskin money vest, from 1853, was designed to (theoretically) protect a settler’s valuables. The vest has three rows of button pockets for holding gold and silver coins, the medium of exchange in California.

And finally, the two ultimate survival tools for the pioneers. First, a colt revolver…

…and second, a Winchester.

Our opening image : The “ raw home ” in the far W by W.U. Morgan & Co. Lith , Cleveland , O. This trade card advertising a New Home stitchery machine , show a happy syndicate outside of their theatre , c1881 . germ : Solomon D. Butcher / Library Of Congress

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An allegorical depiction of “American progress” carries telegraph wire westward. Behind her, settlers follow with stagecoaches, conestoga wagons, and railroads, symbolizing the virtue of taming the western frontier. But in truth, such conveniences took decades to appear.#

This was the reality most settlers knew. A family in front of a typical sod house, in 1886, in Nebraska, Custer County. Instead of a plush toy the boy on the right is holding a young bull. Note the ornament high on the facade.#

Pioneers would make their own clothes, from shearing the wool and spinning it into thread, to actually weaving the fabric, and finally, fashioning it into a garment.#

A spinning wheel from the 1820s.#

The print below shows two women preparing supper on a small, portable stove—a relative luxury—in front of their tents, in 1866.#

“You need only one soap: Ivory soap,” proclaims this ad from 1898, which shows a pioneer washing with a novelty—floating! soap, at his campsite. You can observe other household objects and tools in the background as well.#

Frontier utility knives: a butcher knife, a skinning knife, and a small antique paring knife.#

Farm kitchen cutlery and kitchenware.#

A grain reaper was a vital piece of agricultural machinery. Invented by Cyrus H. McCormick, of Virginia, in 1831, this contraption still serves as the basis for modern-day grain harvesting machines.#

A grain fanner, from the 1850s, would blow air through wheat to separate the chaff—an otherwise time-consuming task.#

This illustration from 1899 shows messengers warning settlers of a Native American uprising—but note the hand-operated plow and broad axe in the picture.#

Water crossings were another major danger, thanks to the crude ferries often used by early settlers. Here, people cross the Red River, in Texas, during a flood in 1874.#

By the late 19th century, families were more established. Here, we see a family standing in front of sod house with a windmill—a fairly high-tech detail—inCoburg, Nebraska in 1884.#

This apple crusher and cider press was also high-tech, for its time.#

Some settlers were lucky enough to have brought cast iron stoves from back east—like this one, from the 1820s.#

A carving bench let craftsmen whittle and carve comfortably.#

Theft was common, too. This lambskin money vest, from 1853, was designed to (theoretically) protect a settler’s valuables. The vest has three rows of button pockets for holding gold and silver coins, the medium of exchange in California.#

And finally, the two ultimate survival tools for the pioneers. First, a colt revolver…#

…and second, a Winchester.#

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