South County Museum

South County Museum
Rhode Island's Coastal Legacy

The Early Transportation Exhibit: Buggies & Carriages

The Barn houses the Early Transportation Exhibit, which includes most of the Museum's horse-drawn vehicles. A selection of them are pictured below.

Note: The Museum follows these dictionary definitions. A buggy is "a light vehicle with two or four wheels, with or without a top, generally with one seat and usually drawn by one horse." A carrage is a "four-wheeled passenger vehicle, usually horse-drawn and often private."

1 Milk wagon	2 Mail wagon	3 Wooden buggy
4 Doctor's buggy	5 Training sulky	6 One-horse wooden hearse.)

7 Wood and metal carriage.

8 Fire equipment

1 Milk wagon, built in 1878 by Armstrong & Sons of Wakefield. It was used by Arthur Stedman and his family. Loan of W.S.Caswell, 2005.(Accession #: 2005.050.0002.)

2 Mail wagon, wooden, used on Narragansett RFD 1. Sources described the vehicle as a "rural mail wagon [that] delivered mail both summers and winters. It was patented in 1893 by Benjamin Arnold of East Greenwich and built by Armstrong & Sons of Wakefield. "It was hoped that the new wagons would help impove the communications and mail delivery between Rhode Island small villages." (Accession #: 2005.050.0001. Donor unknown.

3 Wooden buggy, with a window that opens in the back.(Accession #: 2005.050.0006. Donor unknown.}

4 Doctor's buggy, wooden, with replacement black leather seats. Made in upstate New York. It has a surrey top and chestnut shafts. Accession #: 2001.052.0001. Donated by Chris Vespia.

5 Training sulky made in Philadelphia in 1885. On loan from James F. Carson.

6 One-horse wooden hearse with driver's boot (compartment for luggage or parcels), or an apron to protect the drivers from the weather. The vehicle dates to 1838 or earlier. (Accession #: 1938.001. Gift of the Byron Reed Estate.

7 Wood and metal carriage made in Alabama by Montgomery Carriage Works. Passengers sat in a sort of circle in individual setas. The carriage, which was called "a unique specimen with a beautiful coachwork," has an umbrella basket at the back, which hung outside. It could be drawn by two or four horses. It was formerly owned by Miss Lyra Brown McKerson of Providence. (Accession #: 1936.133 Donated by the Misses Talbot.

8 Fire equipment,wood and metal, for winding hose. (Accession #: 2005.050.0003. Donor unknown.

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	The Barn houses the Early Transportation Exhibit, which includes most of the Museum's horse-drawn vehicles. A selection of them are pictured below.
	Note: The Museum follows these dictionary definitions. A buggy is "a light vehicle with two or four wheels, with or without a top, generally with one seat and usually drawn by one horse." A carrage is a "four-wheeled passenger vehicle, usually horse-drawn and often private."