Visiting Family in the "Good Old Days" Could Be a Bumpy Ride

Usually, this is the time of year when we start humming, “Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go,” which makes us think of horses, sleighs, snow, and home-cooked Thanksgiving feasts. Since it seems that this year is going to be missing many of those things, or at least scaled down for the feasting, it is a good time to reflect on how our ancestors traveled to visit family in “the good old days” and to be glad we don’t have to rely on horses and sleighs! Do you know what kind of vehicles your forebears used?

For most of the distant past, horses, donkeys, mules, and oxen provided primary transportation for our ancestors. Until well into the twentieth century, society really couldn’t function without those animals. Agriculture, industry, transportation, even the military, hospitals, police, and fire departments depended on animals to pull a variety of carts and wagons.

Although there were motorized vehicles by the turn of the twentieth century, they were far outnumbered by animal-powered transportation. And, because the need for large animals in cities was so great, entire industries grew up around them: stables, provisioners for animal feed, blacksmiths, handlers, and even clean-up crews. Roads were too bumpy and muddy for motorized vehicles during the early 1900s, but draft animals could handle them easily. According to one source, “By 1904, there were about two million miles of public highway. Gravel covered about 100,000 of those miles. Macadam, a mixture of crushed rock and tar, covered another 40,000. The rest were still dirt.”

So, on a snowy November day, what would Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa have likely traveled in, if not a horse-drawn sleigh? Perhaps one of the following:

• Brougham: A one-horse carriage with a closed passenger compartment and an outside driver’s seat. Often used for public transportation.
• Buggy: Single-seated, with or without a canopy, drawn by one or two horses.
• Cabriolet: Small, one-horse, two-wheeled carriage with a covering and often a rear platform for a groom to stand on. Often used as a hired vehicle, (and from which we get the word “cab”), these were replaced, eventually, by hansoms, which were built lower to the ground for ease of entering and exiting and came to have rubber wheels, making rides much smoother.
• Dog cart: Began as a small, two-wheeled cart with two seats, back-to-back. Originally meant for sportsmen to carry hunting dogs, they evolved into small pleasure vehicles and were widely used.
• Gig: A two-wheeled carriage, usually pulled by one horse. They were light and speedy but overturned easily, making them a bit dangerous.
• Landau: Four-wheeled, two-horse carriage had a top that separated so each half could be opened and thrown back if the weather was pleasant.
• Phaeton: Another light, four-wheeled carriage, used for most of the nineteenth century in various configurations. A ladies’ phaeton was especially built low for women to maneuver their voluminous skirts in and out.
• Surry: Four-wheeled with two seats and a canopy. Very popular because they were roomy and affordable; often used by families as passenger vehicles.

(On the left is a gig; on the right is a brougham.)

How much would a carriage set you back? In 1897, the Sears catalog advertised a basic buggy without a canopy for $21 (about $650 today) and their best carriages went up to $175 (about $5,400 today). You could buy a little two-wheeled “road cart” for $8.95 (about $275 today). 

Do you know what kinds of animal-powered vehicles your ancestors owned or used? Learning about these vehicles can shed light on your ancestors' travel habits, occupations, and income levels. If you go out this holiday season, think about what travel was like in the not-too-distant past, and be glad for your cushy ride!

Want to learn more?

“Glossary of Carriages,” http://www.arnkarnk.plus.com/glossary.htm

“Transportation in America and the Carriage Age,” Park City History, https://parkcityhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Teacher-Background-Information.pdf

“Transportation in the 19th Century” by Michelle J. Hoppe, Literary Liaisons, http://www.literary-liaisons.com/article033.html