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Historical Mural - Red River Ox Cart TrailThe Red River Ox Cart traveled from Pembina, North Dakota in the Red River Valley area and Canada, down through primitive Minnesota territory to St. Paul. The ox cart was used as a substitute by the Hudson Bay fur trading industry. In 1844 the Red River Ox Cart Trail closed followed East River Road. As far as we can tell, ox were unique in that they were the only carts of that kind in the world. The carts were made primarily of oak and cost about $15 to make. They could carry weights of furs and supplies of up to a thousand pounds per cart. They were pulled by an ox or horse and ran tandem two, three, or more carts together with a driver for each three to five carts. The drivers were called "boisbrule" and their ancestry was Indian, Scottish, and French. The ox cart proved to be a boon to the fur traders because they could carry furs from Pembina at much less cost than through the Hudson Bay Company. The ox cart going south was loaded with hides covered by a buffalo robe, and on the way north they would carry everything from an occasional piano to sacks of flour or whatever supplies were needed back at Pembina and locations along the way. The ox carts could be heard five miles away because of their squeaky wheels, and they would sometimes travel as many as 200 carts in a line. They crossed the river in Anoka in two places, one near the junction of the Rum and Mississippi Rivers and the other near the former Anoka State Hospital location and then proceeded through Coon Rapids. The ox carts were well-known and there are a number of pictures on file at the State and County Historical Societies. The Ox Cart Trail was used from 1844 until 1857. Ox carts were no longer used by the turn of the century. In 1957 the Ox Cart Trail became known as the U.S. Military Road and by 1859 it was shown as such on a map that was drawn by Mr. William Carter.
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