08/19/2026
Recently, museum staff and volunteers updated the hand cart display in the Bertrand Museum to remove all of the old carpeting that was the base of the display.
Back in 1865, the year the Bertrand departed from St. Louis, hand carts such as this one would have been used to help load and unload cargo. St. Louis was one of the busiest ports in the United States. Because it offered easy access to major river ports such as Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and from there to major coastal cities such as New York and Boston, and even European destinations. Many steamboats also left the “Gateway to the West” for the Missouri River and the western frontier. Because of this, the St. Louis wharf was a hectic, bustling, noisy place. The levee was often crowded with steamboats, sometimes lined up three deep for a mile or more, all waiting to load and unload cargo and passengers.
Cargo mostly consisted of crates, barrels, and large sacks filled with a variety of goods, including textiles, foodstuffs, hardware, and other products. Loading these items onto the steamboats was primarily a manual task. Workers carried, rolled, and sometimes hauled the cargo using hand trucks -- also known as hand carts or dollies – like this one, which facilitated the movement of heavy goods onto the boats.
This was the only hand truck found on the Bertrand. It was heavily damaged, but light-colored paint and black stenciling was visible on the handles.
Upon doing some research, we found this great photo courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society. The photo shows a crew unloading the Steamer Sidney using hand trucks very similar to the one found on the Bertrand Steamboat.
Photo 1: Hand truck recovered from Bertrand Steamboat on display in museum with new wood base by Alias Schumacher / USFWS
Photo 2: Hand truck prior with old carpet flooring prior to remodel by Alias Schumacker / USFWS
Photo 3: Photo Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society; Rousters unloading from the Steamer Sidney, estimated 1890.
