- Object Name
- Maker
- Date
1850s
- Materials
Wooden body, iron undercarriage, iron and leather fittings, gilded letering, painted decorations
- Dimensions
102 1/2 in x 62 in x 166 in (260.3 cm x 157.4 cm x 421.6 cm)
- Credit Line
Acquisition made possible by the Ramona chapter, Native Sons of the Golden West
- Object ID
93.21.261
-
- Institution
Autry Museum of the American West
-
- Category
Art and Artifacts
- Remarks
Stagecoach, California Stage Company Concord, manufactured by Abbott and Downing Company with ironwork by James G. Chesley, 1850s. This stagecoach is probably the only known surviving coach from the California Stage Company, the Far West's earliest major stage line. Founded in 1854, the California Stage Company quickly took over the majority of routes within California, eventually extending northward to Portland and eastward to Nevada's Comstock lode. It was operated by veteran stage men James Birch and Frank Stevens. Rounded body suspended above undercarriage, or gears, by leather throughbraces. Two leather straps between body and gears check lateral movement. The gears and wheels are intended for hard service over long distances. Three rows of seats inside, capable of holding up to nine people; additional seats mounted upon the roof extending passenger capacity to eighteen. Coach stamped twice with name of blacksmith James G. Chesley, who worked for Lewis Downing between 1856 and 1864. Lettering over doors: CALIFORNIA STAGE CO. This stagecoach is probably the oldest surviving Concord coach to have seen service in the West.
- Subject
- Used
- Publication
Convergence Autry National Center Magazine, 2007 Winter, Spring / Autry National Center. p. 16-17
Historical New Hampshire. Page 38