Some of America’s most attention-getting
horse drawn vehicles are stagecoaches.
So much so, that individuals, museums, and especially businesses, like
Wells Fargo, use these pieces as significant elements in advertising and promotions. Of course, from East to West, there was an
amazing variety of staging vehicles. When
it comes to the more recognized Concord-style coaches, though, there are
generally three basic types – Hotel, City, and Western. Each featured a triple reach design as well
as a thoroughbrace suspension. The heavy
Concords were also built in a range of sizes including 6, 9, and 12 passenger configurations. While thousands of stages were built across
the U.S., according to well-known stagecoach historian, Ken Wheeling, less
than 10% of the legendary Abbot–Downing Concords are known to have survived. A number of them are showcased in Wells Fargo’s Historical Museums as
well as other public and private collections. (As a side note, I just received an email from Ken letting us known that he'll be profiling the oldest known surviving coach - no. XXXI - in the October 2016 issue of the "Carriage Journal." As with all of his research, this is bound to be an interesting read.)
 |
This rare Concord coach was ordered in 1850 by Curtis Coe for use at the Senter House in Center Harbor, NH. |
Another survivor, a city coach built well over a century and a half ago, is cared for today by the Sandwich Historical Society in Sandwich, New Hampshire. In 2017, the Society will celebrate its 100th Anniversary and, with that milestone in mind, it seemed like a good time to share a little more about this particular coach. Inside our Archives is a piece originally published in the April 1904 issue of “The Carriage Monthly.” On page 162 of that trade publication is a photograph showing this same nine-passenger stagecoach. At the time, the Senter House Coach was already more than a half-century in age. The image included the follow caption...
“The
accompanying cut represents a coach built by the Abbot-Downing Co., Concord,
N.H., for a hotel at Center Harbor, N.H., known then as the Senter House. The order was placed on April 20, 1850, and
the completed vehicle was shipped June 15th of the same year. The coach has been in continuous service
since that time and the original linings and trimmings are in good condition :
the same wheels are under it. The most
of the work was done by Major Downing himself who, in recent years has enjoyed
many a ride in it.”
While the image caption above seems to
indicate the coach was built by the joint Abbot-Downing firm, the vehicle was
actually constructed while J. Stephens Abbot and Lewis Downing had gone
separate ways. The firm of L. Downing
& Sons built the coach. It is said that Major Lewis Downing,
Jr. visited the coach in 1900 and claimed that, “with a few general repairs it
will stand the racket for many years to come.”
Like many other early resort communities,
the Senter House was a large hotel using coaches for transporting guests and providing
tours of the surrounding area. The
photo and details from the century-plus-old story is like so many other parts
of our past. It helps build and
strengthen the provenance of the surviving coach while giving us a more
complete picture of the era. Likewise,
it’s another example of why we devote so much time and energy to digging
through and helping preserve early records.
 |
Coach #84 was ordered in 1865 for the Butterfield Overland Despatch. |
Looking at a slightly different-styled
Concord; several years ago, I profiled a western mail stage in the Articles section of our website. The coach
has an equally storied history and is currently housed in the Booth Western Art Museum in
Cartersville, Georgia. Built in 1865,
this Abbot-Downing survivor is number 84.
It was historically conserved in 2003 and offers a rare opportunity to see
the wheeled West as it was.
With several hundred period stagecoach photos
already in our Archives, we continue to add rare, original images of these
pieces to our collection on a regular basis.
Among the more recent acquisitions is a cabinet photo documenting the retirement
of the ‘Good Intent’ stage line after completion of the Chartiers railroad in
Pennsylvania. This glimpse into
yesterday will likely date to the early 1870’s and prominently features a
Concord with 4 horse hitch, coach lamps, and leather boots, front and rear.
More details on American stagecoaches
can be found in a number of early books including “Stagecoach and Tavern Days”
by Alice Morse Earle, “Six Horses” by Capt. William Banning and George Hugh
Banning, and “Old Waybills” by Alvin F. Harlow.
Wells Fargo even has a more recent book entitled, “Time Well Kept” that
includes several high quality images of Concord coaches in their history
museums. All of these and many others
have a great deal to share about this part of our early transportation
history. Enjoy the reads!
Please Note: As with each of our blog writings, all imagery and text is copyrighted with All Rights Reserved. The material may not be broadcast, published, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written permission from David E. Sneed, Wheels That Won The West® Archives, LLC
