Coal Oil Wagon-Another view

Transportation; Horse-drawn vehicles

Coal oil wagon at the Vernon Street watering trough. In the late 1800's and early 1900's coal oil, or kerosene, was much in demand. It was used for, among other things, lamps and heating. One obscure use was as a deterrent to chiggers while blackberry picking. A rag with a few drops of kerosene tied around the wrists and ankles was the early version of "Off." It was used for everything from a cleaning fluid to a weed killer. The demand was great enough that wagons plied the streets, much as the old ice wagons, delivering coal oil to the customer's doorstep.

Harry Lemen, photographer

Madison Courier; Harry Lemen

Picture taken circa 1927

Madison-Jefferson County Public Library

Permission to reproduce this image for other than personal use must be requested from the Director of the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library. Please contact at 420 W. Main Street Madison, IN 47250 (812) 265-2744

Photograph taken with Eastman-Kodak Brownie Camera No. 2C model A, using No. 130 film. Resulting negative (2.875in x 4.875in) scanned at 1200 DPI using a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL. Online jpeg image file saved at 72 DPI 800 to 1000 pixels on long edge. Scan is full frame of negative. No correction of film errors. Slight sharpness and contrast adjustments.

Still image

"Lemen1033-oilwagontrough"