Usually one finds cars in barns here on Barn Finds, and we can debate all day if a barn is a proper setting for a discarded, unwanted, forgotten or just, “I need a place to keep this so the barn will do” automobile. Well, here’s something one would actually expect to find in a barn, a stagecoach of undetermined origin, age and manufacture, located in Delaplane, Virginia and available here on Facebook Marketplace for $6,500.
Long before automobiles, long before interstate highways and long before the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads put the transcontinental system together at Promontory Point, Utah, a stagecoach was how people, and items like mail, moved over long distances. There were different stagecoach manufacturers in the nineteenth century but the best known appears to have been The Albott Downing Company of New Hampshire who manufactured their first “Concord” stagecoach in 1826. There are no details regarding provenance (or details of any kind for that matter) included in this listing other than the seller stating that this stagecoach is usable and “a great candidate for restoration”. So the specifics are unknown but interested parties are encouraged to contact the seller for information.
The listing rates this stagecoach as “used”, no surprise there, and in good condition. There are no images of the inside included, just four photos of the outside. So, what can we tell? Well, it looks like it’s made of wood, no evidence of it rotting away or suffering the indignity of termites. It’s probably not arrow or bulletproof and doubtful that the window openings contain glass – hard to tell with the exterior shades pulled down. The interior is probably a pretty spartan affair with two thinly upholstered seats facing each other and provides, I would imagine, a spleen busting ride when conducted over what passed for roads 150 years ago. Ventilation? Whatever breeze you can get through those window openings (and remember your positioned behind the south end of horses). For power, it’s a multiple displacement arrangement of two or four horsepower (you knew that was coming) depending on the rig that you want to run upfront. Want to go all out? Yeah, go for a team of six, why not? Driver controls? A set of reigns and a big old brake lever; actually you’ll need a second driver who has sharp-shooter skills and can yodel, “Yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay“. Maintenance? Not much but you’ll want to bring a hammer, nails, saw, auger/bit and whatever it takes to pull a wheel when you get a hotbox. Carrying capacity? Four for what passes as mid-nineteenth-century comfort, six if you’re all good friends. Trunk space? It’s mostly on the roof and ought to hold two or three steamer trunks. You could probably pack a valise or three on the rear covered rack but you might want to consider putting your hard goods back there what with all of the bullets and arrows flying about.
So there you have it. Now, what do you do with it? I have no idea and I’m looking for some help with suggestions. This much is a pretty safe bet; buy it, and while you may not be the envy of your neighbors, you’ll definitely be the only one on your block to own one!
There’s still a few of these hanging around that are used in parades to carry elected officials around. Myself, since it doesn’t have a place to readily put an engine, I’m not all that interested. I was raised on a cattle ranch and horses were USED and then either put out in the pasture or put up in the barn. Dirt bikes were much more efficient for herding cattle and a lot more fun too although a dirt bike was no match for a mean cow or bull. There’s a place just north of the border, at a town called Cardston that has an amazing collection of fully-restored carriages The guy who started the collection was a rancher/rodeo cowboy/farmer/contractor who dug early carriages and accumulated a massive collection. Now the collection is in ‘The Remington Carriage Museum’ and is a worthwhile visit even to a bunch of hopeless gearheads…
Well I’ll go first and call for an LS swap. Throw in some truck balls.
Prefer a 318 Poly swap,,🤠
You know, we see on TV these glamorous ladies in their fancy gowns traveling in the wild west in these, hardly a hair out of place, but in reality, can you imagine what a miserable ride this must have been, FOR DAYS! Not to mention robbers and Injums, we’ve come a long way.
Came to say this. It’s a shame they don’t have pictures of the interior. There’s a few of these around this area, and it not only looks extremely cramped, but seriously, it’d be worse than driving one of our racecars around the Portland pothole filled streets.
But at the time, it was groundbreaking. If you read the history of stage coaches (not just in the US, but Europe as well) just the concept of long distance travel without walking or riding a horse blew a lot of folks minds.
Not to mention, these were one of the first wheeled contraptions that helped develop the modern concept of suspension to smooth out rough roads. Sure, it wasn’t like gas shocks or even air ride, but elliptical springs, and other early cushioning saw their start on these things.
Well, yes, a long way but not quite far enough. Currently it is “Native Americans” not “Injums”. Just sayin’.
It was “Injuns” back then !
More like “Red Skins”, Bone..
So how many horsepower(s) can one attach to “pull the wheels” on this beast ?four or six?
We have come along way from horseless buggies 👍
Fyi: i will await someone to state the obvious “what no A/C?” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😜
Now cue that silly Willy song about horses that can’t really drink brewskis 🐎
“You know justice is the one thing you should always find
You got to saddle up your boys, you got to draw a hard line
When the gun smoke settles we’ll sing a victory tune
And we’ll all meet back at the local saloon
And we’ll raise up our glasses against evil forces singing
Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses
Singing whiskey for my men, beer for my horses”
That’s Toby Keith and Willy.
Wells Fargo, anyone?
They’ll be more than happy to open up an account or three that you don’t know about for you. Just remember BTTF 3 when they hauled the DeLorean back to the blacksmith shop.
I would not be surprised to find out that it was used in one of the Wells Fargo commercials. It certainly looks the part.
Will need axles and wheels swapped out to be authentic. These are buggy wheels. They wouldn’t withstand the gruelling work. This would use heavy wagon axles & wheels.
I was gonna say. I bet it’s not a 19th century holdover but most likely used by Wells Fargo bank at one time for promotional purposes . It’s their colors, after all
Looks like the Wells Fargo Stage at Harvey West Park In Santa Cruz, California where the City Parks and Recreation ( I assume that is who still owns it ?) has allowed it to deteriorate in it’s glass window shrine: all the leather reins are on floor in a pile rotting along with the rest of the tack…..damn shame…pride of ownership gone away I guess…. they did the same with their 1920’s Seagrave Fire Engine when I was a kid, and the 1935 Mack, probably still in pieces in the Butler Building at the West Side Fire Station…sad, sad, sad.
If you want a hilarious account of what it’s like to travel in one of these, you should read Mark Twain’s Roughing It. He and his brother took one to the west not long after the civil war, and it didn’t sound like a lot of fun. They put up a sort of hammock up in it to keep from getting beaten to death by the ride, and the food at those waystations didn’t sound very good either.
This is not an Abbott & Downing Concord coach.
And the railroad came together at Promontory Summit, Utah, NOT Promontory Point as has been erroneously reported in countless books and articles. (The U.S. Park Service has a nice website about it, and it’s a great place to visit.)
Puhnto:
I didn’t state that this was an Abbott & Downing Concord coach, simply mentioned they were big players in early stagecoach construction.
Your point regarding the transcontinental railroad meeting place is duly noted.
Well, okie dokie then!
The first guy in the U.S. to put big gold rims on a red car with dark windows.
Nicely played, but you forgot the staggered wheels.
And no red heater hoses, no gallons of Amour All on the wheels. Top seed @30mph. Zero to 10 mph @ 5 seconds. Sway bars not needed. The local bar will do just fine. Shocks provided by Mr. Delco. Mrs. Gabriel. Captain Bilstein your driver. And the Lone Ranger the guard
I drove a 4 horse hitch pulling a stagecoach for a bank that was similar to this. Very tiring to hold the reins for a long period. It was important to have a second person to help drive and give you a rest. Punishing ride up top and even worse inside. New versions (yes there are still specialty makers) can cost upwards of $100K! If it isn’t made of plywood and all the wood is in good condition, this is a major bargain and I’d buy it immediately if I was nearby. The only thing I’d change would be to mount rubber tires to soften the ride a bit, but that would spoil the period look if it were used in films.
easy tune up just change 2 plugs
Rest stops anywhere along the trail but watch out for scorpions.
Give me a wheel of oaken wood, a rein of polished leather, a heavy horse and a tumbling sky brewing heavy weather…
I remember when I was in high school, there was this rich kid who got one of these for his birthday.
When he travelled to school, we could hear it coming for miles.
Those wheels lacked rubber and sure were noisy on cobbled roads.
I also remember it had sunroof delete, due to the luggage overhead, which supposedly affected the handling. Are you still reading this……
I don’t think my HOA would allow me to have it as a yard ornament in the postage stamp I call a front yard. But I could make it fit. Actually this could be rented out as a movie prop from time to time, or photo shoots after a mild repair and restoration. Hummm Durn thing is to high to fit in my garage. Great find though. Wouldn’t take much to turn it into a Butterfield stage coach.
Wondering if you could modify the hitch n tow it behind your Motorhome. Put modern wheels tires, axles, lights, brakes….. On second thought, why!?
From where the term” I ride shotgun” came from. I couldn’t imagine traveling through Arizona in one of these with Geronimo on the warpath. Let alone the dust and sweat all over the place. Then having to wait for the next stage depot to do your business, if you know what mean.
At least whenever they eventually got to a town to stop for the night they could probably get a room with a decent bed if there was a motel. Then the rooms would be above the saloon that were used by the prostitutes in a very dirty bed with bedbugs, red army ants, mice, cockroaches included with yer stay. No running water. No bathrooms. Glad to be alive now!!!!
how old are you now Thomas, that you remember that hotel room. I always refused to sleep there….
A lot like watching “Unforgiven”, then?
Who waits. Just ask the driver to pull over near the next sage brush or prickly pear
Parked when Parked
Perfect candidate for larger diameter low profile wheels; they always make vehicles look better, increase in value, and go faster -just like squirrel tails on radio antennas did in the fifties!
Thinking of the road conditions and the wheel construction I can’t think I have ever seen one with a spare?
Rolled when parked.
Wonder if it’s an old movie prop?
The Columbia Gorge interpretive center (look us up) would welcome this donation! Somebody set it up. We have all sorts of old machines, but no stage coach.
Well, I’d love to have it and give stagecoach rides in Pinedale and Jackson,Wy ! If you really wanted some horse power you could go the whole team of an 8 pack carburator and exhaust system ! I would need to find a place to park it (I’m sure I would have volunteers). Taking it into my home it would probably end up on the side of the mountain.
Delaplane – beautiful place, lots of old farms and old money…whatever it is I’m betting it’s real and high quality.
Cardston is in Alberta Canada.
The Remington museum is absolutely amazing .
This can easily be an all day visit.
We have been there a couple of times and the collection is massive and incredible to see.pure non restorations as well as some being redone.
This place is family friendly as well.
Much more than stage coaches are there .
Contact Wells Fargo Corporate.
They will buy this and put into restoration then use it to tour along with their other replicas.
I’m thinking it’s already in Wells Fargo livery.
I’ll be the first dunce to say it: Slam, chop, and bag it with a 24 valve Cummins.
Brodozer it…
I’ll pass – no cup holders.
I was near Lenior,NC a week ago,& saw a trailer (for a semi)
with “WELLS FARGO” on the side.Probably a hauler for one of these.
As a young lad growing up in rural Northern California our school had annual field trips to Old Shasta, a town that was once the County seat of Shasta County. On the front porch of the old courthouse was a stagecoach on display. We were allowed to observe but not touch the restored original stagecoach from the 1800’s. Inside was the courtroom, and down stairs was the jails, in the rear courtyard was the gallows where they hanged offenders for certain crimes.
Times have changed, mostly for the better, yet when I visit places like this I also am reminded of simpler times with a certain amount of romance of a time gone bye.
God bless America
Imagine the stories it could tell. Should be lovingly displayed to remind people of the spirit of our ancestry. Would love to own it.
I can already see it, staring down two barrels of sawed off shotgun with Black Bart’s steelie eyed glare, “this is a hold up!!, my good freinds! AArrgghh!”
No thanks,
Or crashing down a revene, where’s the dern seat belt!
And when night came it was dark, I mean absolutely pitch black.
Those folks back then, who traveled westward, had some seriously hard bark on them. An absolute necessity.
Notice the coach has a center door for ingress and egress. The early closed cars had the same arrangement. Ever see a model T center door sedan? Built from about 1915 to 1922
Looks like 4 inchers on the front, and 3 inchers on the rear?
Fun stuff. I have a 57 Stude, a 1857 Studebaker wagon. Love going to Studebaker car shows, go up to a 57 Golden Hawk and say I have a 57. They ask, which model?
I answer, 6 Horse. They look at me with a blank face. Then comes the chuckle.
My family tree, the Butterfields.
My step dad, Fred Butterfield, gave me an old book, the first East to West trip.
Found out why little towns on flat land were about 16 miles apart.
Stage stops to swap for a fresh team.
The same horses went back and forth between those 2 towns.
Some terrain required mules. Mountain climbing would be a shorter distance for the animals.
Some stops had food, beds, etc.
You ate dust, bugs, body odor, etc.
Sometimes the rider/passenger got out to help push/pull thru mud, etc.
Larger diameter and wider wheels help keep them from gettin stuck.
Hey pawdner, we need your mussle to hep us pull dis outta here.
Read the book, Butterfield Stage, if you are not fraid.
That damned old Golden Spike, (spikes), put it outta business.
If memory serves, John died of copper poisoning.
Ps, a Butterfield Stage was stolen somewhere near Temecula-Murrieta some years ago. Reward for thief, dead or alive.
Dont know how to post a picture of my Stude. I towed it on the Interstate behind a 69 Daytona on an open trailer.
People slowed for pictures and videos. I pretended to ignore them. Had 550 horsies to tend to
With a couple of Pontiac engines and a lot of time and cash you could make a Paul Revere and the Raiders Coach clone !
George Barris made a Stagecoach Hot Rod for the group Paul Revere and the Raiders. It had two blown V8’s in the front and looks like it was hell to steer!
I think I’m the current owner of this coach. This summer I had the outside repainted. Purchased 2 life sized horses with full harnesses to place in front of it. Had the boot cover replaced.
who was the previous owner?