
Centredale, Greenville, and Harmony stagecoach.
From an early-twentieth century postcard.
Quahog.org > Facts and folklore > Mass Transit in Rhode Island, Part 2 Mass Transit in Rhode Island, Part 2by D. Scott Molloy The stagecoach era; symbol of rapid transportation in 1815. The following article originally appeared in Old Rhode Island magazine, March 1994. It is reprinted here with permission of the author. ![]() Centredale, Greenville, and Harmony stagecoach. From an early-twentieth century postcard. The building and extension of turnpikes in Rhode Island spurred the development of the stagecoach, the "symbol of rapid transportation in 1815." A stage from Providence to Boston ran sporadically as early as the 1740s. Drivers, according to legend, would not embark for a destination until assured of a full load. A tongue-in-cheek bit of folklore claimed that operators gave sufficient notice before leaving so that "passengers could settle all their worldly affairs and make their journey." Regular service between the two colonial cities began in earnest in 1767, with daily trips commencing in 1793 at a cost of one dollar each way. Ironically, the development of swift steamers from New York to Providence enhanced the patronage of stagecoaches, as New York travelers would disembark at Providence for the trip to Boston, a journey which was longer by sea due to the geography of the region. Sometimes eleven miles per hour!
Directly related to the establishment of turnpikes and stagecoaches was the growth of hostelries, taverns, and guesthouses along the stage routes. "The stagecoach," according to a Journal article, "carried animation along with it from village to village; and when the driver's horn announced its approach, all the superannuated uncles, idle small boys, and stock loafers would begin to put themselves in motion towards the tavern, that they might enjoy the temporary excitement when the coach arrived." In Providence, between 1845 and 1850, most of the stagecoach lines operated out of the Exchange Hotel and the Weybosset House where passengers enjoyed a separate waiting room before embarking for Greenville, Scituate, Chepachet, Manton, Warwick, East Greenwich, Coventry, or other Rhode Island destinations. Patrons registered at a convenient booking office in designated establishments. The canal and railroad cometh
The iron horse clearly condemned the stagecoach to oblivion. Ironically, the Boston-based Eastern Stage Company tried to organize a monopoly of stage service in Rhode Island and throughout New England in 1818, just before the coming of the train. Other business interests made similar efforts later in the century to monopolize omnibus, horse car, and trolley service in the state. Contemporaries along the road of the Boston to Providence stagecoach in 1835 worried that the railroad would end economic enterprise along the old turnpike altogether. According to a newspaper account, "They could not conceive it possible for such a mighty enterprise as the turnpike to be abandoned without accomplishing the ruin of all who derived subsistence there-from; and in this opinion they were supported by the prevailing sentiment of the country at that time, which regarded railroads as a curse rather than a blessing." The speed, comfort, and relatively low fares of the railroad were beyond the competitive reach of the stagecoach. Only where there were no other means of transportation did the coach continue to flourish. Several lines survived into the twentieth century. "Ride slow and cheap" or "quick and dear"
Service no longer neededThat the stage lasted as long as it did was in some ways a testament to the handlers. John Richards, who began his career as a driver on the Providence-Danielson stagecoach during the administration of Andrew Jackson, was still driving his "box" in the 1890s "in determined spite of and with a kind of contempt for, those modern conveyances, the steam car and steam boat." Richards, like many other drivers, was an owner-operator who hung on after other prudent businessmen would have abandoned the business. At the turn of the twentieth century the last remaining stagecoach line traversed the backwoods from Olneyville to Scituate, Foster, and Danielson, Connecticut. The Providence and Danielson (Electric) Railway opened in June 1901, causing the demise of the last stagecoach line. An article on the new system became an obituary for the old stage. "The world will need its services no longer." Editor's Note"Thorough braces," mentioned above, are defined by the Abbott-Downing Concord Coach website as: ...strips of leather, cured to the toughness of steel and strung in pairs to support the body of the coach and enable it to swing back and forth. This cradle-like motion absorbed the shocks of the road and spared the horses as well as the passengers. It also permitted the coach to work up its own assisting momentum when it was mired in a slough of bad road and beasts and driver were struggling to free it. These thorough braces were carefully wrought and intricate in arrangement, and it usually required the hides of more than a dozen oxen to supply enough of them for a single coach. More Mass Transit in Rhode Island...Part 1: The early turnpikes from Indian trails to tollgatesPart 3: The omnibus, a crucial urban link Part 4: Rhode Island's first horsecar, Providence to Pawtucket Part 5: Horsecar workers Part 6: Horsecar drivers and customers Part 7: The first Rhode Island trolleys: Woonsocket and Newport Part 8: New England's only cable car, the Providence Cable Tramway: the struggle on 'Quality Hill' Part 9: The Providence Cable Tramway becomes a reality Part 10: The first trolley in Providence, 1892 This article last edited November 23, 2015 © 1999–2021 Quahog.org (with the exception of elements provided by contributors, as noted). |
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