Discovering Concord Coaches

At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, Mr. Peter Clemmons made his way from Delaware and purchased a total of 53 acres of land near the Yadkin River from a settler named Butner. Tradition has it that he paid 75 cents per acre for this purchase. It is reported that the stagecoaches passing through Clemmons would stop overnight at the Clemmons House/Hotel. During this period, Edwin T. Clemmons, a great grandson of Peter Clemmons, was captivated by the stagecoaches. He became a wealthy stagecoach owner and operator.

In 1872 he ordered from Abbot-Downing Company of Concord, New Hampshire a nine passenger coach and named it "Hattie Butner" after his wife. Edwin T.Clemmons was the owner and proprietor of several stage lines based in the Clemmons area and running to such points as Salem, High Point, Raleigh, Asheville and Wytheville, Virginia. In the 1870 census his occupation was listed as a mail contractor. The Hattie Butner was the last and largest of several stagecoaches purchased by Mr. Clemmons from the Abbot-Downing Company. Mr. Clemmons died in 1886 and his widow, Hattie Butner, donated the stagecoach to the Wachovia Historical Society around 1890. It was displayed and stored at Old Salem until 1988 when it was placed on indefinite loan to the Village of Clemmons. In 1993 the Historical Society made a gift of deed of this beautiful work of art to the Village of Clemmons. The Village Council approved space in the new Village Hall which was completed in December of 1994 for storage and display of the "Hattie Butner."

The Clemmons Historical Society has spent approximately $22,000 in retoring the "Hattie Butner" to near its original appearance. Much pain was taken to duplicate fabric and leather as nearly as possible to the original material. The exterior is still the original painting. Many months of painstaking work was undertaken to remove the old dirt, grime and years of neglect to uncover the artistry of the original coach.

Courtesy of Clemmons Historical Society and the Village of Clemmons.

The New London Historical Society recently had their coach built in 1874, number 425 in the order books, restored. It was first used between Hopkinton and Concord and later between Potter Place and New London.

Executive Councilor James H. Hayes of Concord, New Hampshire, presented this Abbot-Downing Concord Coach to August A. Busch, Jr., of St. Louis, Mo., chairman of the board of Anheuser-Busch, Inc. for permanent display at its brewery in Merrimack, N.H.

The Anheuser-Busch coach is of 1878 Abbot-Downing vintage. Councilor Hayes commissioned Ed and Barbara Rowse to completely restore the vehicle, keyed to the original specifications. Mrs. Rowse's responsibilities included duplicating the original colors and material details, such as braid trim for seat cushions, walls and ceilings. She also handpainted the scrollwork on the coach body and the trim on the wood undercarriage.

Depicted on one coach door is her hand painting of the Anheuser-Busch Brewhouse in St. Louis, a National Historic Landmark. The other door has her painting of New Hampshire's original Capitol of 1819, before the building was twice enlarged, first in 1865, and again in 1909.

This coach was to have been put on public display in a glass building, which was to have been air-conditioned and humidity-controlled, according to a company spokesman at the time.

The information I have is that a member of the family that was to be married, fell in love with the Coach and wanted to arrive at the church in this Concord Coach. It appears it was shipped to St. Louis for the wedding and was not returned to the Merrimack Brewery.

The good news is that it is in great hands. You can see it at Grant's Farm, and no one will take care of it better than the Anheuser-Busch family.

BARRE, MASSACHUSETTS ABBOT-DOWNING STAGECOACH

A number of years ago I corresponded with Alice E. Roper concerning the Abbot-Downing Stagecoach that was owned by the Barre Historical Society. Her dream was to have a permanent home for the above-mentioned coach. I hadn't realized that Alice had passed on until recently.

Just this month, I found out her dream came true.

It had been parked for nine years in one of the bays of William W. Neylon's Antiques Barn. Recently the stagecoach took up residence in a new $35,000 post-and-beam building recently constructed behind the Barre Historical Society.

The coach was built in 1859 and I am hoping Grace Yaglou, Chairman of the Stagecoach Committee can provide me with additional information and photographs for this site.

Congratulations on such an undertaking and such a great tribute to Alice Roper.

If you would like to contribute in some way in the restoration of this Abbot-Downing Concord Coach, please contact the Barre Historical Society, Barre, MA 01005.

Pick up the delightful songs by Rick and Ron Shaw. Their "Ballad of the Concord Coach" and "Lucy Come Ride in My Wagon" are available in music stores here in New Hampshire and may be available at the N.H. Historical Society.

In the beginning, tours of Yellowstone National Park were conducted by using stagecoaches. Eventually, a modified type of passenger wagon became the prevalent means for conducting tours. These vehicles usually had three forward facing seats for nine or twelve passengers behind the driver's seat.

In 1897, twelve of these vehicles were ordered from the Abbot-Downing Company by the Yellowstone Park Transportation Company.