Coach, Concord

Object Name:

Coach, Concord

Object ID:

1957.043

Creator:

Abbot, J. S. & E. A. -- Manufacturer; Wiggins, Charles (1809-1857) -- Manufacturer; Burgum, Edwin G. (1858-1948) -- Artist

Place of Origin:

Concord, NH

Date:

circa 1855

Description:

Concord Coach, made by J. S. and E. A. Abbot, Concord, NH, c. 1855. Body painted red. Wheels and undercarrriage painted yellow with black striping. Old Man of the Mountain painted on left door. New Hampshire State House painted on right door. "CONCORD COACH" in gold lettering on black above doors. Green and yellow scrollwork below doors. "U.S. MAIL" in gold on each side below driver's seat. Roof covered in oil cloth and painted black. Iron luggage rack around sides and back of roof. Number "65" stamped on axle ends.

Material:

Metal
Wood
Oak
Basswood
Elm
Hickory
Ash
Iron
Tin
Leather
Cotton

Dimensions:

H-103 W-81 L-160 inches

Provenance:

Built by J. Stephens and Edward A. Abbot, probably between 1853 and 1857. Probably ran on a line from Lanesville to Gloucester on Cape Ann, MA, from 1858 to the 1890s. Around 1900, Harold Jefferson Coolidge (1870-1934), a summer resident of Sandwich, NH, found the coach in Tamworth. He bought it and kept it in a barn at his summer home, then loaned it to the Sandwich Historical Society. In 1930, Mr. Coolidge donated the coach to the Boston & Maine Railroad. It was displayed in the Concord railroad station from 1931 to 1957. It was shown at the New York World's Fair in 1939-40. The coach was repainted by Edwin G. Burgum in 1930, and again after the World's Fair. The B&M Railroad donated the coach to the New Hampshire Historical Society in 1957. It was on view in the rotunda at 30 Park Street until 1994, when it was moved to the Society's museum at 6 Eagle Square, where it was on view until 2014.

Credit Line:

Gift of the Boston and Maine Railroad

People:

Abbot, J. Stephens (1804-1871), Abbot, Edward A. (1830-1913), Wiggins, Charles (1809-1857), Coolidge, Harold Jefferson (1870-1934), Burgum, Edwin Gannell (1858-1948), Harvey, Sidney Russell (1869-1944)

Subjects:

Concord Coach, Coaches, Stagecoaches, Stagecoach lines, Old Man of the Mountain, State House (NH)