Smithsonian To Add Covered Wagon At History Museum

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is installing a covered wagon from its collection to show more of its objects on the museum floor in Washington.

On Wednesday morning, visitors will have a chance to see curators prepare and clean the 1800s-era Conestoga wagon to prepare it for exhibit.

The museum says covered wagons like this helped settlers just beyond the mid-Atlantic region compete in national and world commercial markets until the 1850s. They helped haul supplies to the Western frontier and returned to Philadelphia and Baltimore with agriculture products.

Covered wagons also have a storied past, so the museum plans to showcase one from its collection.

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