An Illustrated History of the Barrel in America

In America for more than three hundred years, the barrel was the primary bulk transportation container for almost every imaginable dry or wet product. In the last half-century, however, most barrels have been replaced by cardboard boxes, plastic containers, and the fifty-five gallon steel drum. As the barrel disappeared, it is odd no one wrote about this crucial container that for three centuries protected American commerce.The farmer grew potatoes, corn and wheat, raised livestock, and tended orchards – the products of which required barrels for movement. The manufacturer pounded out nails, made soap, and cast brass parts that were also shipped in barrels. But it was the container's contents, not the container, which received all the attention. After all, the barrel was cheap, costing about $1 in 1909 when the 127 million barrels produced exceeded the 91 million population in the United States. The barrel was simply a means to an end and was taken for granted.This illustrated history restores the robust barrel to a deserved place of honor and examines how, for so many years, it was known as the “King of Packages.” Proof of the container's economic and social importance is reflected in the fabric of the American language, which is replete with barrel-speak. Expressions such as “more fun than a barrel of monkeys” and “like shooting fish in a barrel” are still uttered today.Also, many have heard of “cracker barrel wisdom,” where in times gone by, elderly men sat around a pot-bellied stove in a country store and held forth with solutions to the country's most pressing problems. The cracker, pickle and flour barrels are no longer omnipresent, but their image lingers. This is that story.