Laugh all you want bad person but stealing horses was serious business in the Old West..and Midwest!
Enough horses were stolen in Montgomery county in 1845 that the local farmers couldn’t even harvest their own crops,” explains historian Paul Craig.
Craig has been studying horse thieves at his home in Warren, Indiana for years. He says horse stealing was so widespread in the 1850’s Indiana lawmakers authorized formation of Horse Thief Detective Agencies.
Every township in every Indiana county had one.
This daguerreotype, taken in 1852 on Calhoun Street in Fort Wayne, is the oldest exterior photo in our collection. (We...
This daguerreotype, taken in 1852 on Calhoun Street in Fort Wayne, is the oldest exterior photo in our collection. (We have some undated photos that could be older.) At the time we purchased this image, it was one of the earliest known extant outdoor daguerreotypes made in Indiana. It measures 3 1/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches.
Just transcribed a couple of letters found in an antique store by Cianna Lee who made them available for transcription and publication on Spared & Shared by express consent. They were written by Will Johnston, Jr. of Fort Wayne, Indiana (pictured below) to his friend Burritt K. Lawlin of New York City, both written during the American Civil War. The main topics pertain to recruiting and the drafts—a frequent topic among civilian males of military age. The second letter is a great reaction to the New York City Draft Riots and the political consequences anticipated as a result.
Transportation around Fort Wayne was extremely difficult and time intensive in the first 100 years of our existence. The populace either relied on horses and wagons or just their two feet. With the reliance on horses, one of the most important people in the community was the local farrier. Farrier comes from the French word for blacksmith. The art of farriery means the shoeing of horses. The trade is believed to have been date as far back as the Roman Empire. Since 1998, National Farriers Week has been celebrated each year during the second week of July. Founded by the American Farriers Journal, it helps promote and draw attention to the dwindling workforce and the high expectation for being a professional farrier. Throughout the week take some time to learn to recognize good farrier work. Those who do will be improving the care of their horses, while also becoming more knowledgeable custodians. If you know a farrier, express your appreciation to him or her. Today, the History Center celebrates National Farriers Week by sharing some of the items in our collection used in the farriers trade. #sociallyhistory
When we question the reluctance of some to modernize from horses to machines. Pictures sometimes tell the story.
Boat guys—Next time Kit & Candy balk @ pulling the canal boat, show them this picture! 😉😏
Restored footage from 1896 of the cities Paris and Lyon in France June 26, 2024 by Gallemart on YouTube
🌟 Step back in time with us!
📽️ Restored footage from 1896 of the cities Paris and Lyon in France. Witness pedestrians and vehicles of the past in various locations across these iconic cities. This incredible footage was primarily filmed and produced by the pioneers of motion pictures, the Lumière brothers. Auguste and Louis Lumière created one of the first motion picture cameras, the Cinématographe Lumière. 🎥✨
🌆 Locations featured in this video:
The Eiffel Tower
Place des Cordeliers
Place de la Concorde
Place du Pont
🛠️ Footage frame rate increased, upscaled, and “colorized” by HistoryColored using AI technology. Please note, the color added is not necessarily historically accurate.
🎶 Music: Cain / Lo Mimieux / Epidemic Sound
📜 Footage originally from: Wikimedia Commons and Internet Archive
Timeline of Selected Horse Events
An 1847 letter from John Johnston the former Fort Wayne Indian agent said 46 years ago it took 27 days hard riding on horseback from Fort Wayne Indiana to Washington City.
1865 Indiana State Fair held in Fort Wayne Lawton Park mentions renting horses.
1913 photo shows automobiles at the Barr Street Market
1914 - Charlie Deam the first Indiana State Forester mentioned that thanks to improved roads he was driving an automobile in 1914 to collect many more plant specimens around the state of Indiana.
June 3, 1918 Columbia City women badly injured when horse scared of a cow tied by the road drug the buggy injuring the woman driver.
1919 newspaper article with photos and series of articles about replacing three-horse-hitch fire fighting equipment with motorized vehicles. Two of the retired horses had to be put down after an accident on their first day.
September 8, 1921Mrs. Pauline Meyer slips when she jumps from her buggy when the horses are frightened by a passing car fracturing her skull and dying the next day.
Various versions of the same Star Vestibule Storm Front postcard are found for sale on ebay. A couple were dated 1910. Some show the same "boiler-plate" advertisement on the back side of the postcard.
A full page in 1919 with photos discusses the history of the William Penn House built by the Aveline Family which mentions eight times it was a stagecoach stop on the north side of rural Fort Wayne. Mail delivery is also mentioned a couple of times.
Indiana’s first stagecoach route was established along Buffalo Trace (Vincennes Trace) between New Albany and Vincennes in 1820.
April 10, 1824 United States mail delivery by stagecoach was established between Vincennes, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky.
localremnants blog historynut11. About historynut11 My name is Tim Ashley and I am a newspaper editor/reporter/photographer in Milford, Indiana, and live in nearby Goshen, Indiana. A deeply held and sincere passion of mine is history and learning from the past. I enjoy a wide variety of history topics, but particularly local history, noted American highways (Lincoln Highway and Route 66), railroad history and the Civil War. I believe we can learn much from the past and that past shapes who we are today. I also enjoy visiting museums and historical sites, as well as taking photos of remnants from the past still standing.
Stagecoachesstarted operating in roughly the 1830s. The photo shows a house built in the 1860s for Israel and Rose Hess that was once a stop on a stagecoach route. It is located on U.S. 33, just south of Goshen near County Road 40 in Elkhart County. What is now U.S. 33 was once known as the Fort Wayne Road and was a route used by the stagecoach operating between Goshen and Fort Wayne. This route would have been important especially because Fort Wayne was the closest banking town.Former stagecoach stop near Goshen December 13, 2015.
one prominent line ran between Goshen and Fort Wayne. It followed the old Goshen-Fort Wayne Road, which, generally speaking, is U.S. 33 today. Along that route were stagecoach stops for weary travelers to rest and also to rest their horses.David Keister tavernIn 1845 the tavern and inn was built and served as a place of rest and refreshment for travelers between Fort Wayne and Goshen. It is located along U.S. 33 near Merriam in Noble County.Former stagecoach stop in Noble County April 22, 2017.
The stagecoach was the major vehicle for overland group transport until railroads began to dominate in the 1850s. Rural inhabitants continued to rely on stagecoaches for local travel, and hotels sent them to meet trains or take guests sightseeing. Copied from Stagecoach Travel at the Henry Ford Museum.
November 27, 2024 post by Uncharted Lancaster on Facebook discussed late 18th and early 19th centuries, stagecoaches providing a vital transportation link across Pennsylvania giving time in days between various cities including Philadelphia.
The Wells Fargo stagecoach is probably the best known stagecoach in modern times shown July 31, 2015 at Monument Circle in Indianapolis below:
The Wells Fargo stagecoach and four beautiful horses were just taken out of the Wells Fargo semi. Our #WestFest kick-off event begins at 11:30 am - 1:30 pm. Make your way down to Monument Circle NOW!
The Wells Fargo stagecoach and four beautiful horses were just taken out of the Wells Fargo semi.
Explore the stagecoach When Wells Fargo was founded in 1852 as a bank and express company, they used stagecoaches to safely transport mail, valuables, and even people across the western states. The stagecoach became an icon for the Wells Fargo brand, and remains an enduring symbol of longevity, forward momentum and a commitment to help customers succeed. Have a look around one of our historic coaches. From History of Wells Fargo.
City Livery Stable Wayne Street, near Calhoun Street, looking west, Pen Eng Co. Detroit, from page 62 of Fort Wayne illustrated Publication date 1897 on Archive.org. Several other advertisements show horses in their photos. Photo discussed July 31, 2024 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook. April 19, 2024 Facebook with the same photo stated:: "The 1900 City Directory listed seventeen(!) livery stables, with the majority of them being located on Broadway, Main and Harrison Streets." - Fred J. Reynolds.
December 17, 2023 Facebook post with photos discussed Gustave L. Horstman Livery Stable 210 - 216 West Main Street.
Prior to the introduction of the automobile in the early 20th century, livery stables were an essential business providing horse-drawn transportation. One could hire a horse, wagon, or carriage for the afternoon or a few days. Livery owners also stabled, fed, and cared for the horses of out-of-town visitors, so were often located near hotels. Many also sold feed, straw, and lumber and offered livestock sales. Copied from a March 14, 2025 Facebook post by Indiana Album.
Property was between Main and Columbia on the west side of Barr Street.
[ Today the location is Freimann Square - with The Landing to the east all that remains of Columbia Street south of Superior Street, see Google Maps ]
The stable was built seventy-four years ago by a man named Sauer, and was a famous resort for early characters, as the old stage coaches that were the only means of passenger travel, except for horseback and river pirogues, used to put up with Mr. Sauer, and the building was a favorite gathering place for the jolly old stage-drivers of the period. [ First mention found of stage coaches in Fort Wayne ]
The property eventually passed through different hands and finally came into possession of Mr. J. F. Fletcher, who conducted a livery business for many years past.
The old building was infested with rats and the workmen killed forty-eight of the rodents during the day.
"I'll be there with bells on!" You’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase. You may have even said it. But do you know where the saying came from or what it means?
It has to do with one of Lancaster County's most famous products—the Conestoga wagon. It was used for over a century to grow the nation's business and westward expansion. The men who piloted these four-wheeled behemoths were a toughed lot known as “Waggoneers.” These hardened drivers were able to cope with all the demanding conditions of frontier roads regardless of the weather. They learned to be on the lookout for brigands who roamed stretches of unguarded highways or back roads. They were also competitive, always ready to race with each other. When they finished a day's haul, they partied together at the inns along the way.
The Conestoga horses—animals specially bred for the purpose—that pulled these wagons typically wore bells. Waggoneers were VERY proud of their bells. Tradition said that if a Waggoneer got into trouble and someone else came to the rescue, the rescuer would take the bells with him. It was this practice that gave rise to the popular saying, "I'll be there with bells on!" Click the link to learn more.
Lynnanne Dennison-Fager shared this photograph awhile back of a farm family being photographed with their sturdy, farm wagon also known as a buckboard wagon. It was called a buckboard because the angled board where their feet rest was called a buck and would protect the riders from a bucking horses feet. These early farmers were a hearty breed in their own right and took great pride in their horses and wagons. Men spent countless hours cleaning and maintaining their wagons much as they do today with pickup trucks. Wagons were used to haul supplies, carry agricultural instruments, gather hay, crops and wood for personnel use or to transport to market. In the early days wagons were called wains and a man who made them was called a wainwright. Nearly every community in Wabash County had a blacksmith that could help repair wagons that the farmer couldn't. Larger communities had wagon shops that could make a one for you.
In 1894, there were seven wagon makers in the county. Thomas Alber was in Wabash, Michael Cook in Liberty Mills, E.G. Harvey in Somerset and Enyart & Son, D.J. Rupley, William Stadler and H. Thrush and Son in North Manchester. You could also get wagons from buggy makers at F.M. Beck & Son, Al Hettmansperger, Launder & Harter in Wabash, A.W. Bowman, J.H. Butterbaugh and A.B. Miller in North Manchester, H.J. Bowman in Roann and Lewis Shinkle in Lagro. At the same time there were 27 blacksmiths all over the county that could help with repairs.
A runaway match took place took place 'tother evening--not a gallant, moustached chevalier of noble main and dignified appearance, and a blooming, blushing bride of "sweet sixten"--but a pair of match mules broke from their hitching post near the railroad and ran furiously for a while.
You’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase. You may have even said it. But do you know where the saying came from or what it means?