The Chuck Wagon

a picture taken in 1907

Charles Goodnight of the Goodnight/ Loving cattle trail from San Antonio, Tx. to Denver, Co., is credited with the invention of the "chuck wagon".  Goodnight invented the chuck wagon in 1866, when he and his partner, Oliver Loving, were herding 2000 head of longhorn cattle from Ft. Belknap, Texas, to Denver. Goodnight knew that the cattle drive would be much more successful if his cowboys were fed well.  He bought a government wagon and had it refitted into a "kitchen on wheels", one that would make even Chef Ramsey proud. The chuck wagon had a sloping box attached to the back; this box could be folded down to make a work table for cooking. The chuck wagon was so successful that other cattle bosses adopted the concept for their cattle drives.