In this day of private transportation for most households, it is easy to think of autos, taxicabs, moving vans and even Uber that we are all familiar with to fulfill our needs for hired conveyances - but what came before these?
As our nation began a growth spurt, transportation became the critical factor in that growth. We commonly think of the keelboats, stagecoaches, steamboats and railroads as the common denominators in long distance transportation of the past. We seldom think of the intermediate, short distance transportation that links other transportation and accommodations at the local level.
Drayage is the term used when describing short hauls from ports, terminals, hotels and other areas to nearby locations. Drayage is a key aspect of the transfer of shipments or travelers to and from other means of transportation or locations. A traveler who arrives at a steamboat landing or railroad depot would need some form of short distance transportation.
We have come through a long progression of various means of transportation. In approximately 1848, the need for this intermediate form of transportation, drayage, became readily apparent as a result of the steamboat packet service. Transfer services began to spring up around the steamboat landings along the river to transport travelers and their luggage from the landings and docks to local hotels or other means of transportation. In the mid-1850s, most of the drayage was accomplished by horse and crude wagons. These wagons gradually evolved into the more specialized wagons, known as transfers, which were built to accommodate a greater number of passengers and their accompanying luggage.
As time progressed and the railroad began to supplant the steamboat, travel continued to increase, further increasing the need for this intermediate form of transportation. Along with that increase came a more sophisticated and demanding traveler who was no longer satisfied with being transported in a horse drawn wagon. As a result, there was an emergence of a new, more luxurious form of transfer, the omnibus. The omnibus was designed to meet the needs of these more discerning travelers. They sported an enclosed cab with more richly appointed interiors, better means of ingress and egress, and springs to provide a gentler ride, although they were still horse drawn.
In the 1900 Illustrated Sketch Book and Directory of Jefferson City and Cole County Missouri by Editor J. W. Johnston, there were 19 companies and individuals listed under the heading "Teaming, Drayage and Baggage." One company listed as a "Transfer Company," and three companies and individuals listed under the heading "Omnibus and Carriage Lines."
The steam ferry was simply another form of drayage. Local ferries, including the steamer J.W. Spencer, John L. Ferguson and other boats had provided steam ferry service between Callaway County and Jefferson City since 1839.
In 1896, Jefferson City was finally brought into the more modern world with the construction of the first bridge crossing the Missouri River at Jefferson City. This connected Cole County to Callaway County, with its two railroads for travelers and commercial interests, as well as the wealth of agricultural interests. With this new opportunity to the north came a corresponding growth in drayage. These increases would be short-lived. When the bridge was built, provisions were being made for an electric trolley system to eventually cross the bridge on regular routes to connect with the Chicago & Alton Railroad at South Cedar and the MK&T (KATY) Railroad at North Jefferson. The first trolleys appeared on Jefferson City streets in 1910, and by 1913, the trolleys were crossing the bridge to complete those connections
With the coming of public transportation, the demand for drayage did not disappear. It did diminish significantly. With the advent of the automobile came a steadily increasing supply of public transportation and demand for the auto for private personal transportation. Another chapter in our need for public transportation ended as the need for horse drawn drayage and other conveyances gradually came to a close.
Wayne Johnson is a Jefferson City native and retired engineer and chemist. For the past two decades, he has worked closely with four local historical societies, setting up websites, digital imaging, search and retrieval of those images and now compiling brief general histories of people, places and events in Callaway and Cole counties early history.