The Quintessential Mode of Transport for Mount Desert Island - The Buckboard
Buckboards and Bar Harbor were at one time synonymous. But the first buckboards, or boards as they were sometimes referred, in that part of the country were not made in Bar Harbor, though the idea may have originated there. The claim for the first buckboard was made by Landlord Swann, of the Biddeford House, who said he built the first vehicle of this type while he was keeping the Green Mountain House in Bar Harbor in 1871.
The buckboard was the carriage type best suited to the roads
of the island. The gentle swaying motion of the board while travelling at full
speed over the hilly roads was simply delightful, and no person who had
travelled in one wished to use any other type of vehicle during their stay.
Perhaps the best-known maker of buckboards was Mr. W.H. Davis who went into the carriage making business in 1869 with his father James W. Davis in Ellsworth. They formed a co-partnership under the firm name James W. Davis and Son. In 1881 he bought his father out, and later took in his brother, Henry E. Davis, forming W.H. & H.E. Davis.
By December 1, 1887, W.H. and H.E. Davis had commenced work on their new carriage factory between Ledgelawn Avenue and School Street. In 1889 the firm split with Henry E. Davis assuming control of the Ellsworth business and W.H. Davis taking over the Bar Harbor business.
Originally consisting of planks resting on two pairs of wheels with a seat in the middle with only what spring the “bucking” of the board would make. the buckboard of 1881 bore not the slightest resemblance to the first ones which came to the island. The buckboard which Davis was turning out by 1891 from his factory on School Street was so advanced from the original buckboards that it would cause a lexicographer who knew those original buckboards to create a new definition for the word.
The first spring for the buckboard was made by Davis about 1877 or 1878. Improvements continued to be made each year and by 1891, those being produced at the Davis factory were of handsome wood in natural color, upholstered in light colored corduroy, broadcloth, or leather, spring in seats and back, and elegant in every way. They would accommodate anywhere from two people to twelve and a driver and were drawn by one, two, or four horses. Made of ash, spruce, and whitewood, they were lighter than any other carriage with the same seating capacity.
By 1891 Davis was manufacturing nearly 100 a year and had probably produced 1000 total. His buckboards were shipped all over the country and even to Finland. And while the buckboard was the specialty of the Davis factory, he also made every kind of carriage then in use, cutunders, road wagons, buckroad wagons, surreyettes, etc.
The factory was originally 33’x85’ with three floors and a connected blacksmith shop, and twelve to fourteen men were employed at the factory. In addition to carriages, Davis also sold harness, whips, robes, blankets, dusters, and everything pertaining to horse and carriage clothing.
By 1892, Davis was the leading manufacturer of Buckboards in Bar Harbor, and with the increase in business came the announcement of a large addition to the factory in the Autumn of that year. This was not undertaken until December 1895, when Davis with the construction of a 60’x36’ annex. The annex was built by Mr. John E. Clark, known for many building projects around town including the recently completed cottage of Mr. John J. Emery, The Turrets. When completed in early 1896, the factory was approximately 120’x36’, furnished with all the modern appliances for carriage building.
By November 1900 the carriage factory consisted of the first or main building, which still survives today, which was a two-story structure with an attic. The building fronted School Street 23 feet and was 155 feet in depth. A small corner of the first floor was used as a counting room and the balance of the room was used as a carriage repository and sales room. The entire second floor was occupied as the paint shop in which many carriages could be easily handled.
Connected with the main building from the second story on the south side was another building 30’x65’, the lower floor of which was used as a blacksmith shop. The second story of this building was divided into the wood working and trimming departments, and the attic was used as a storeroom.
In the rear of these two buildings was still another 40’x125’ building which was occupied as a carriage store house and this not being large enough for the housing of the many wagons which Davis manufactured and for those left with him for repair, Davis made use of the large Tower Block on Cottage Street.
By August 1894, it was claimed in the paper that the Canadian Pacific Railroad was one of the best customers of Davis.
A new design of buckboard came into service in July 1895, when it was announced that Davis had built a fine Tally ho buckboard for Stafford Brothers, and designed by Jaques, the architect. There were seats for eleven, besides the coachmen and footmen seats. Under the latter was a large closet for picnic supplies. The buckboard was built of whitewood, ash, and hickory, and handsomely upholstered in brown leather. It was to be drawn by four horses.
So how much did a buckboard cost? The price of a Davis built buckboard in January 1896 was $135, or $4,762.14 in 2022.
On Monday September 11, 1899, an unknown arsonist attempted to burn down the Davis Carriage Repository. The first was detected in the early stages by Mr. Owen Clark, a wood worker whom Mr. Davis allowed to sleep in the office at the factory. He was assisted by Mr. Frank Cunning and only a small arear of the wooden floor was damaged, including a floor beam.
In October 1899, the W.H. Davis and Bar Harbor Buckboard Company and Henry E. Davis of Ellsworth Factories consolidated and formed the Davis Bar Harbor Buckboard Company, with capital stock of $50,000 Factories were to continue to be run in both Bar Harbor and Ellsworth. The President was Henry E. Davis, W.H. Davis Treasurer, L.W. Page Secretary, with Henry E. Davis, W.H. Davis, and L.B. Deasy as directors.
About 1900 was appointed agent for Eastern Maine for the celebrated Springfield Rubber ties, and his blacksmith, Mr. Fred Keller, went to Boston where he spent some time learning the art of applying them.
In the manufacture of buckboards, Davis used only materials of the best quality. The white wood he bought from the South, the hickory from the West, the white ash and other woods were supplied from Maine. Some of the wagons were finished in paint and others in natural wood, while for trimmings broad cloth, leather, and whipcord were used as the fancy and the purse of the purchaser dictated. All of the work was performed under the personal supervision of Davis, and nothing was overlooked.
By 1900, the most popular buckboard for ladies was the rumble, and the six-passenger with double driver seat was also in good demand.
Davis did not only build carriages, but also repaired them. He had an immense repair department and in the winter months his shops were filled with vehicles of one kind, or another left by the summer visitors to be put in repair for another season. Some needed slight repairs, others but a coat of paint or varnish, while still others required almost complete rebuilding.
In September 1902, the Davis Buckboard Company, W.H. Davis Manager, purchased the Bar Harbor Buckboard Company. The Bar Harbor Buckboard Company had been run for four years by John E. Bunker, Jr. and the entire business was transferred to the Davis factory. From this point forward, Davis was the only manufacturer of buckboards in that section of the country.
Staying current with the latest in manufacturing, in December 1903, the Davis factory was fitted out with new and up-to-date machinery for the manufacture of carriages powered by electricity. Equipment included a buzz planer, a cutting off and splitting saw, a band saw, a sanding table, and an emery wheel, all supplied by S.A. Wood Machine Company of Boston.
Business continued to improve, and in the Spring of 1905, Davis shipped more carriages than at any other time in the history of the company up to that date. But in introduction of the automobile, while resisted and objected to my many, was inevitable.
In April 1913, we find the first mention of the Davis Buckboard Company engaging in the sale of automobiles. Mr. M.A. Gott, of School Street in Bar Harbor, purchased from Davis a thirty horsepower Overland touring car, equipped with electric lights and an electric self-starter, which he planned to use for public work on the streets of Bar Harbor.
Ready for retirement, on October 1, 1914, Davis announced he was selling the Davis Buckboard Company to Bert Harvey Young and hoped to conclude the sale by November 20, 1914.
In November 1922, Donald MacLeod bought out the Davis Buckboard Company, which was by that time was being used for the repair of automobiles, and work which continued there under MacLeod.
The main building of the Davis Buckboard Company, first built in 1887, and enlarged over the years, still stands today. To most who pass by it, they would probably not even notice it, and certainly have no clue as to its important link to Bar Harbor history.
From 1892, local papers carried sometimes very detailed descriptions of the customers and the buckboards which were order from and shipped by Davis which we can share with you here:
1892 - Clinton, Iowa
1892 - York Barch, Maine
1892 - Wilmington, Delaware
1892 - Mr. J.C. Kennedy of New York who was then building a log cottage built on Cromwell Harbor
1893 - Gloucester, Massachusetts
1893 - Attleboro, Massachusetts
1893 - Mr. Jesse Brown, said to be the most elegant and stylish yet seen
1893 - Mrs. J. Pierpont Morgan, a single seat buckboard with a rumble seat to her beautiful summer home in Highland Falls, New York
1893 - Mr. W. C. Van Horn of the C.P.R.R. Company, a six-passenger buckboard to his summer home in Canada
1894 - Mr. Charles G. Hope of Montreal
1894 - Mr. Charles F. Allen of Clinton, Iowa
1894 - Mr. C.H. Schwab of Irvington-on-the-Hudson
1894 - Mrs. Potter Palmer, three buckboards, one of them a handsome nine seat affair for a four-in-hand rig
1895 - Mr. J.T. Abbe of Holyoke, Massachusetts, the handsomest buckboard made to date, the dasher and seats were of satinwood, highly polished, showing off the beautiful grain of the wood to perfection. It was trimmed in light English Bedford cord, with lap robes of the same with Brussels mats.
1895 - Mr. W.H. Baldwin of Baltimore, Maryland
1895 - Mr. Anson Phelps Stokes of New York
1896 - Mr. Potter Palmer of Chicago, a tally ho buckboard of handsome quartered oak. It sat twelve with driver and was finished in Bedford cord.
1896 - Mr. George W. Armstrong of Boston, a handsome buckboard, and that that means of conveyance was becoming very popular in Boston and the vicinity at that time.
1896 - Captain Joseph Carson of Northeast Harbor
1896 - Rogers & Atwood of Northeast Harbor, a handsome nine-seater
1896 - Mr. H.S. Chase of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, a tally-ho buckboard which would seat fifteen, trimmed in leather
1896 - Mrs. Jules Reynal, a handsome six-passenger buckboard with a double driver seat.
1897 - Mr. Alexander Mosely of Boston, a rumble buckboard with rubber tires
1897 - A Washington lawyer, a six-passenger buckboard
1897 - Whitney & Tilton of York Harbor, Maine, fitting up a stable including a tally-ho buckboard
1899 - Mr. Frank A. Kennedy of Windsor, Vermont, a very handsome four passenger buckboard finished on the natural wood and trimmed with whipcord and had nickel mountings
1899 - Mrs. Leslie Carter, five carriages of the very best and costliest materials1900 - Mme. Celestine Eustis of Aiken, South Carolina, a very handsome two-seated buckboard trimmed with a very nice piece of English whipcord and finished in natural wood
1902 - Mr. John R. McLane of Washington D.C.1903 - Eureka Supply Company of Windber, Pennsylvania
1903 - Count Conrad von Hockberg of Dambrau, Bei Oppelu, Oberschlesien, Germany
1904 - Prince of Pless of Pless, Germany1905 - Mr. F.L. Gipson of Lily Bay, Moosehead Lake, one of his famous ten passenger buckboards
1911 - Mr. A.P. Senna, a liveryman from St. Andrews, New Brunswick, an eleven passenger buckboard, a rumble buckboard, and a two seated buckboard
Comments
Post a Comment