Once upon a time the Horse ruled the road. It was the beautiful noble horse that pulled carriages on our humble dirt paths to take Ladies and gentlemen about town, large families to church, and country folk into town. Some gentlemen enjoyed riding horseback but most 19th century ladies preferred the carriage over riding aside horseback. However some women braved travelling by horseback. Men always rode astride and Ladies always rode aside or side saddle on both horses and mules.

One of the most prominent carriages sought after and desired was the Landau Carriage. It's ornamentation was a bit flashy and elegant. The seats were covered in velvet and the doors were padded. It was an all around well equipped carriage. Of course, only the finest horses were selected to pull such a carriage since mostly prominent people would be seen in such an elegant mode of transportation.

The Phaeton Carriage was smaller and lighter than most carriages and was used by mostly ladies and gentlemen without a coachmen. Some Ladies and gentlemen felt they could take to the horse and carriage without a coachman and do the coaching themselves.

The Governess Cart was a small carriage most popular with women and children. The seats were made of wicker. A donkey or pony was used to pull this small carriage. There was one large seat in the front and a smaller one in the back facing the front.

The Dog Cart was another popular carraige. It was called that because earlier in the century it had gained popularity for being used to travel to events such as fox hunts. It's marked characteristic was that it had only two wheels. This cart had one seat up front for the coachman or driver and another seat for two in the rear.

The Brougham Carriage This 1890's carriage was popular among the middle and upper class. It had one coachman's seat and one seat for 2 passengers. As you can see not all these carriages carried many people.

Larger families, usually from the countrysides, used larger carriages of course. These could have been covered or uncovered carriages that could carry up to six people at the most.

Here is a fashion plate from Godey's fashion Pages. This gives you an idea of what some women wore for horseback riding. Gradually womens riding habits changed, not hanging so low to the ground. Women also were taken to wearing leather breeches underneath their riding habits.


Transportation has long since changed since the horse and buggy.

Back in the days of ole if one did not have a horse he simply walked. And in town he could always hire a cab or in bigger cities he could ride what appeared to be a horse pulled trolley with windows. Stage coaches could carry a few people along with luggage. Still, the real hero was the horse. Since it took such a fine and noble animal to pull such weight. The horse is what made the carriage ride a romantic and endearing ride. Maybe we can't go back in time. But you can always dream about it.

Very Informative Links!

All The Year 'Round








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Lana J. Hunt