History Articles

After nine decades of service to the trucking industry, Estes has quite a story to tell. From how W.W. Estes got started in 1931 to how the company hauled an elephant to the National Zoo in 1961, these interesting historical accounts will fascinate, amuse, inform and inspire.

A Humble Beginning for W.W. Estes

Our founder, W.W. Estes, didn't start out his career in trucking—he was simply a modest farmer in Southside Virginia with a love for hard work and big equipment. Here's an interesting look at how he came to be the founder of what today has become the fifth largest LTL company in the nation.

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How the Trucking Industry Got Its Start

It's interesting to look back at the origins of the trucking industry to gain a little perspective on what we take for granted today in terms of roads, vehicles and the regulatory environment. What conditions set the state for W.W. Estes to start a trucking company back in 1931? And what was it like at Estes Express Lines in the early days?

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Life Before Deregulation

For 60 years, beginning in 1935, the trucking industry was heavily regulated under a complicated system of restrictive and inefficient rules. Read on to find out what it was really like operating a trucking company under the heavy government oversight of years past.

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