Pioneer Day is an annual holiday celebrated on July 24th in the U.S. state of Utah. It commemorates the arrival of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Many communities in Utah have parades, rodeos, concerts and other festivities to celebrate this important event in Utah’s history. Riddles can be a fun way to get people thinking and talking about Pioneer Day. Here are 93 riddles about pioneer day with the answers provided.
1. What did the pioneers use to light their way as they traveled west?
Answer: Lanterns
2. What mode of transportation did many pioneers use to travel west?
Answer: Covered wagons
3. What flowed through the mountains that the pioneers had to cross?
Answer: Rivers
4. What did pioneers do to preserve food for their journey?
Answer: Canning
5. What did pioneers use to guide their way west?
Answer: Compasses
6. What did pioneers hope to find in the West?
Answer: A new home/Land
7. What often interrupted the pioneers’ journey west?
Answer: Storms
8. What did pioneers build when they reached their destination?
Answer: Log cabins
9. What did pioneer children play with that were made from corn husks?
Answer: Corn husk dolls
10. What were female pioneers called?
Answer: Pioneer women
11. What was a common pioneer profession?
Answer: Farmer
12. What were babies cradled in?
Answer: Covered wagons
13. What did pioneers use to plow the fields?
Answer: Oxen
14. What did pioneers shoot to hunt for food?
Answer: Buffalo
15. What did pioneers wear to protect their legs when riding horses?
Answer: Chaps
16. What did pioneers see a lot of on the prairie?
Answer: Buffalo/bison
17. What did pioneers use to wash clothes?
Answer: Washboards
18. What did pioneers gather around in the evenings?
Answer: Campfires
19. What did pioneers wear to protect themselves from the harsh weather?
Answer: Bonnets
20. What did pioneers use to carry water?
Answer: Buckets
21. What did pioneers listen to for entertainment in the evenings?
Answer: Fiddle music
22. What did pioneers shoot in the air to celebrate special occasions?
Answer: Guns/rifles
23. What did pioneers hang outside their cabins to alert neighbors?
Answer: A triangle dinner bell
24. What did pioneers use to make butter?
Answer: Churns
25. What did pioneers use to chop wood for fires?
Answer: Axes
26. What did pioneers ride to help herd cattle?
Answer: Horses
27. What did pioneers use to make fabric?
Answer: Looms
28. What did pioneers barter to get supplies they needed?
Answer: Animal pelts
29. What did pioneers dig to find water?
Answer: Wells
30. What did pioneers use to preserve meat?
Answer: Salt
31. What did pioneers use to hook rugs?
Answer: Rug hooks
32. What did pioneers use to sew clothing and quilts?
Answer: Needles and thread
33. What kind of houses did pioneers build?
Answer: Log cabins
34. What did pioneers use to card wool?
Answer: Carding combs
35. What did pioneers use to make candles?
Answer: Tallow/animal fat
36. What did pioneer children use as writing slates?
Answer: Pieces of wood
37. What popular game did pioneer children play at recess?
Answer: Hopscotch
38. What did pioneers use to light their homes at night?
Answer: Candles/kerosene lamps
39. What were common pioneer names for girls?
Answer: Mary, Elizabeth, Anne
40. What were common pioneer names for boys?
Answer: John, William, James
41. What did pioneers use to make soap?
Answer: Lye and fat/oils
42. What did pioneers do during barn raising events?
Answer: Helped build barns
43. What did pioneers use to plow fields?
Answer: Draft horses/oxen
44. What kind of hats did pioneer men wear?
Answer: Wide-brimmed hats
45. What did pioneers use as currency before paper money?
Answer: Gold nuggets
46. What did pioneers do during quilting bees?
Answer: Sewed quilts together
47. What was a common cause of death on the pioneer trail?
Answer: Disease/illness
48. What did pioneers use to travel long distances?
Answer: Wagons/horses
49. What popular card game did pioneers play?
Answer: Old Maid
50. What did pioneer children use to carry books to school?
Answer: Satchels
51. What did Pioneers use to make butter?
Answer: Churns
52. What did pioneers use to sew quilts?
Answer: Needles
53. What did pioneers use to wash clothes?
Answer: Washboards
54. What did pioneers wear on their feet?
Answer: Boots
55. What did pioneers use to dig wells?
Answer: Shovels
56. What did pioneers use for light at night?
Answer: Lanterns
57. What did pioneers use to keep warm in winter?
Answer: Fireplaces
58. What did pioneers use to make clothes?
Answer: Spinning wheels
59. What did pioneers sleep on?
Answer: Straw mattresses
60. What did pioneers use to shape wood?
Answer: Axes
61. What did pioneers use to cook food?
Answer: Cast iron pots
62. What did pioneers do for fun?
Answer: Square dances
63. What did pioneers use for building homes?
Answer: Logs
64. What did pioneers use to make flour?
Answer: Grain mills
65. What did pioneers use to travel west?
Answer: Covered wagons
66. What did pioneers use to carry babies?
Answer: Cradleboards
67. What did pioneers use to store food?
Answer: Root cellars
68. What did pioneers use to make fabric?
Answer: Looms
69. What did pioneers use to plow fields?
Answer: Oxen
70. What did pioneers barter with Native Americans?
Answer: Furs and food
71. What did pioneers do for water?
Answer: Dug wells
72. What did pioneers use for building fires?
Answer: Flint and steel
73. What did pioneers use to store belongings?
Answer: Trunks
74. What did pioneers use for light?
Answer: Candles
75. What did pioneers hunt for food?
Answer: Buffalo
76. What did pioneers use to make soap?
Answer: Lye
77. What did pioneers use to sew?
Answer: Needles
78. What did pioneers use to card wool?
Answer: Carding combs
79. What did pioneers use to chop wood?
Answer: Axes
80. What did pioneers use to hook rugs?
Answer: Rug hooks
81. What did pioneers use to churn butter?
Answer: Butter churns
82. What did pioneers use to make candles?
Answer: Tallow
83. What did pioneers use for transportation?
Answer: Wagons
84. What did pioneers use to cook food?
Answer: Dutch ovens
85. What did pioneers use to preserve food?
Answer: Salt
86. What did pioneers use to make molasses?
Answer: Maple trees
87. What did pioneers use to make cheese?
Answer: Milk & rennet
88. What did pioneers use to grind grain?
Answer: Millstones
89. What did pioneers use to make apple cider?
Answer: Apples & a press
90. What did pioneers use to spin wool?
Answer: Spinning wheels
91. What did pioneers use to card cotton?
Answer: Cotton cards
92. What did pioneers use to weave fabric?
Answer: Looms
93. What did pioneers use to make lye for soap?
Answer: Ashes & fat
Conclusion
In summary, pioneer day celebrates the pioneering spirit and grit of early settlers in Utah and the American West. These riddles cover details about the tools, technologies, activities, food, clothing and more that were part of daily pioneer life in the 1800s. Pioneers used simple tools and resources to build homes, plant crops, make clothing, and establish communities. Their perseverance and ingenuity in the face of harsh conditions is remembered and honored each Pioneer Day. I hope these 93 riddles and answers have provided some fun facts and insights into pioneer history to appreciate and commemorate.
