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Getting Around Town in Style

150 Years Ago

By Mary Chris FoxworthyPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
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A little over one hundred years ago, there were more horse drawn carriages on city streets than cars. For the greater part of history, horse drawn carriages were the major means of transportation; "we have had six thousand years of history with the domesticated horse and only a little over one hundred years with the automobile!" Gloria Austin, Equine Heritage Institute

Today, many cities such as Charleston, New Orleans, New York, Nashville, Mackinac Island, Savannah, Minneapolis, Chicago and many more, have horse carriage businesses offering tours. The type of carriage most often used for this is a vis-à-vis. The vis-à-vis is a “servant driven” or coachman driven vehicle. This means that the owner does not drive the carriage and all of the passengers are sitting behind the driver. These carriages are also very popular for weddings. Most of these carriages seen in city streets today, and at weddings, are newly made and painted white.

A vis-à-vis is a carriage in which the passengers sit face to face with the front passengers facing rearward and the rear passengers facing forward. The term comes from the French “vis-à-vis”, meaning “face to face”. It is an open carriage that first appeared in England in the 18th century. Some were made with a folding half-top, and in the second half of the 19th century, the folding canopy or umbrella top was produced and began to be used on the vis-à-vis and other carriages in America. A “sociable” is an alternative name for a carriage of this type.

vis a vis by Studebaker c. 1900
modern vis a vis
Victoria

Another carriage that would have been driven by a coachman is the Victoria. The Victoria is a very elegant carriage. It was fashionable for ladies to be driven through the park in a Victoria by the family’s private coachman.

H. M. King George IV

The George IV phaeton is a very formal carriage that would also have been seen in a park setting. Unlike the Victoria and vis-à-vis, it is owner driven. It was usually used to show off an exceptionally fine pair of horses. It is easily identified by the low-slung elegant design and the enormous, gracefully curved, patent leather dash. In his later years, King George the Fourth of England became very portly and suffered from gout. He requested a low, easily entered vehicle be constructed that he could drive himself. Thus, the George IV Phaeton was born out of the desire and necessity of the King.

There were many types of horses and carriages found on city streets in the 1800s and 1900s. Not all horse drawn carriages were formal carriages driven in parks; some were very utilitarian and used for every day transportation.

Hansom cab

The Hansom cab was used primarily as a public vehicle and became the cab of choice in most major cities of England and America however, there were some privately owned Hansom cabs too. The Hansom Cab derives its name from its inventor, Joseph Hansom, an English architect, who patented the design in 1834.

Commercial livery stables in most cities were commonly three stories high. On the main floor were carriages, wagons, buggies and sleighs. Some carriages were privately owned, which a stable stored for a fee, while others were owned by the stable to rent out. The horses were located on the second floor and the third floor contained hay and feed for the horses. The horses were led to the street down a wide central ramp.

omnibus

Mass transit in the cities was also powered by horses. The horse-drawn omnibus was a large, enclosed vehicle used for passenger transport. In a typical arrangement, two wooden benches along the sides of the passenger cabin held several sitting passengers facing each other. The driver sat on a separate, front-facing bench, typically in an elevated position outside the passengers' enclosed cabin. Many of them were double-decker buses. On the upper deck, which was uncovered, the longitudinal benches were arranged back to back.

omnibus at a country home

omnibus used by a hotel

Similar vehicles were often maintained at country houses (above top) and by some hotels and railway companies (above bottom) to convey people and luggage to and from the railway station. These vehicles were known as a private omnibuses and were often coachman-driven.

Carriages that were driven by individuals as a means of transportation around town were also seen on city streets of the past. Gigs were commonly used by businessmen.

The gig is an open, two-wheeled carriage that was popular in France, England and America. It was used for short distances around town. The driver’s seat is constructed so the driver sits higher than the shafts. This gives the driver a good view of the road and makes it a favorite for tandem driving even today. There are several types of gigs with different types of springing.

modern skeleton gig with a tandem

gig made by Flandrau c. 1870

The gig received its name from a contraction of “whirligig,” because similar to the whirligig, the gig whirled rapidly. According to the June 1900 edition of Outing, a monthly illustrated magazine for sports, travel, and adventure, when the gig made its first appearance in 1754 it was “quite the most attractive and most practical cart of [its time and] … became immediately popular.” The gig is still a very popular vehicle today, in the show ring, with a high stepping horse.

gigs were commonly used by business men

a more formal gig

City streets were full of commercial vehicles too (pictures below). Milk, fruit, ice, coal and parcels were among the many things delivered to the home by horse drawn vehicles.

preparing for morning delivers at Marshall Field's in Chicago

For decades Marshall Field’s would deliver anything from a new refrigerator to a spool of thread. Field made cruelty to horses grounds for dismissal. On the very hottest days, horses had to rest (young boys strapped packages to their backs instead). Horses only worked half a day, even if that meant a driver had to leave his horse at a neighborhood stable and go back for another horse so he could finish his deliveries.

American Express

Horse drawn vehicles were also used to haul freight from docks and in warehouse districts. Express companies such as Wells Fargo and American Express had large fleets of horses and delivery vehicles. Founded in 1850 in Albany, New York, American Express established its headquarters in Manhattan at Jay and Hudson Streets and essentially enjoyed a monopoly on the shipment of express goods in the state for two decades. American Express recognized the need to enlarge their Hubert Street facility in 1898. Architect Edward Hale Kimball was commissioned to extend the stable through the entire block along Collier Street to Laight Street. The entire structure was increased to three stories. Only three years later, in 1902, the building was enlarged again. The days of horses and drays for the American Express Company were numbered, however. In 1913 the parcel post system was established, wielding a significant blow to the express companies. By 1918 American Express was gone and a railroad freight firm, the American Railway Express Company, was using the building.

Horse drawn vehicles were used for city services too such as the fire department, police department and garbage removal. (pictures below)

garbage removal
police
fire fighting

Transportation outside of cities called for different types of horse drawn carriages.

dog cart

Dog Carts were for exactly what the name implies – dogs. They were used to take dogs to hunts, shoots or country matches. The box area under or behind the seat had slotted sides to provide ventilation for the dogs. Dog carts were often used to carry luggage and other supplies too.

runabout: for going quickly on a straight road - well maybe not THAT quickly!

The runabout carriage is exactly as the name implies too – it was used to run about quickly from place to place. The carriage had room under the seat for packages. It was lightweight, and not cut under, since the vehicle was not intended to navigate the tight turns and stop and go traffic of the city. The runabout was designed to go quickly from place to place on a somewhat straight road.

doctor's buggy

If you watched movies on TV you probably saw doctor’s buggies. Unlike cities, where the distance the doctor had to travel was often not far, country doctors often had to travel great distances to see their patients. Designed with the same thought in mind as the runabout – to get there quickly – it also sported a top since Doc had to be out in all kinds of weather.

buckboard

You probably also saw buckboards in movies and on TV. Buckboards were the pickup trucks of the day. The seat for the driver was suspended on springs but the back was flat and open for transporting a month’s worth of supplies from town – or the entire family!

Now that we’ve put the cart before the horse, let’s turn our attention to the most important part of the horse drawn carriage – the horse of course!

high stepping horses
draft horses
Morgan horse at a horse show with a concord wagon c.1872

Many types and breeds of horses were used for horse drawn carriages depending on the need. When in the park and trying to impress those looking on, then a fancy, high stepping horse was used. When hauling lots of weight, then a draft horse. For the doctor or fire chief – a fast horse. Morgan horses were, and still are, a very popular breed used for carriage driving. If you attend a carriage show today you will still see many Morgans in the ring along with every breed of horse and pony imaginable – even some imported breeds!

Dan Patch

Driving horses provided entertainment too; harness horse racing was as popular in the past as it is today. Harness racing was a big deal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Even though horse tracks were closed during this era due to the crime and gambling that surrounded them, harness racing was viewed as a tasteful alternative since the horses trotted at an even gait rather than racing at full speed. The vehicle used for harness racing is not called a carriage; it is a sulky. Dan Patch (1896-1916) was a famous harness racing horse of the early 1900s. He won every race he entered and he also tied the world record for the fastest mile.

sleighing on Detroit streets

Until the mid-1800s though, horse racing was an amateur activity in most cities. As soon as winter arrived in Detroit, Michigan, Detroiters were in sleighs racing up and down city streets. Sleighing brought out the entire city! The favorite racing places for French Detroiters was the ice on the Rouge River and by midwinter, on the Detroit River. "Matinee horse races" was the name given to amateur racing that did not require an entrance fee. Eventually the racers formed Matinee clubs, such as the Detroit Matinee Club. Matinee clubs called their races "brushes." They used only "road" horses, not specialized thoroughbred racers. Most cities and towns had segments of roads set aside for the "Brushing Brigades." One of the horse racers from the late 1840s was Ulysses S. Grant, who was stationed in Detroit. He was an Army lieutenant at the time and loved to race horses up and down city streets.

When the days of using horses came to an end, many of the manufacturers of carriages turned to making automobiles. Surprisingly though, horse drawn carriages are still in use today. Many of the vehicles from the past, that were made by well-known manufacturers, such as Brewster, Flandrau, Demarest, Locke, Studebaker and Kimball, have survived and have been meticulously restored. They are used at horse shows and for pleasure drives.

Carriage manufacturers today make vehicles for a modern style of driving called “combined driving”. Patterned after 3-day eventing, combined driving involves driven dressage, obstacle driving and cross-country driving; as one can imagine, the lovely antiques of a bygone era would not withstand this type of carriage driving.

Driving horse drawn carriages is no longer a necessity but is very popular as a sport. You can find carriage shows to watch throughout the United States – find one near you and enjoy reliving the elegance of a bygone era!

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vis-%C3%A0-vis_(carriage)

https://www.carriageassociationofamerica.com/carriage-tour

https://www.viator.com/USA-tours/Horse-Carriage-Rides/d77-g12-c26029

https://www.definition-of.com/George+IV+Phaeton

https://www.geriwalton.com/the-gig-or-chaise/

http://www.gail-thornton.co.uk/private-vehicles/gig.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsebus

h http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2011/12/american-express-stables-no-157-hudson.htmlttp://www.gail-thornton.co.uk/public-vehicles/omnibus.php

http://rememberingmarshallfields.blogspot.com/2009/12/marshall-fields-delivery-wagons.html

https://growlermag.com/dan-patch-the-rags-to-riches-story-of-the-fastest-horse-you-never-knew/

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan-history/2014/11/29/horses-detroit-history/19546809/

The Horse in the City: Living Machines in the Nineteenth Century By Clay McShane, Joel Tarr, Professor Joel Tarr

https://carriages-schroven.com/gallery/ **

Historical
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About the Creator

Mary Chris Foxworthy

Mary Chris combines her life-long love affair with horses with a passion for keeping history alive. She is an active competitor at horse shows and is known for her work as a research writer for the Equine Heritage Institute.

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