Wood Worm

The basic structure of the rocking chair has remained the same. There are two curved bands (or rockers) on either side of the chair that contact the floor at two points. Unlike a conventional chair with four points of contact, the rocking chair allows its occupant to sway back and forth using minimal shifts in their weight. 

Relieving pressure off your back by gently rocking backward is a common luxury now. However, before the advent of the rocking chair, there was no safe way to produce this motion.

This ability to relieve aches and pains, and produce a calming motion using a small amount of self-propelled movement, was a boon to farmers and other early Americans. While their daily routines included a great deal of physical labor, rocking chairs gave them the ability to literally “take a load off.” 

The history of the rocking chair begins in gardens and on porches. As outdoor furniture, their original designs were simple—they were conventional chairs with two pieces of curved wood attached to the bottom on either side of the seat. There is reason to believe the first rockers were designed as a means of helping busy mothers rock their babies while keeping their hands free for other household chores, such as knitting and sewing. Whereas mothers used to sway side to side with their children in arms, they could now place children in their laps and use their legs and back to create the rocking motion. 

As both uses for rocking chairs and new technology and fashion burgeoned in American culture, rocking chairs evolved