Horses
Horses have provided transportation for humans for thousands of years. They were used to carry people, transport goods, and even pull canal barges and trolleys. Horses and buggies were used by those in both the city and the countryside. An entire economy grew around keeping and using horses. Farriers shoed horses and blacksmiths built and repaired wagons. Liveries boarded the animals of city residents who did not have stables of their own. Automobiles started appearing in the late 1890s and, by the 1920s, they greatly outnumbered horses and carriages. A few local businesses, including Houck Dairy, continued using horse-drawn delivery vehicles well into the 1930s.
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Beach & Mettler Horse Shoeing and General Blacksmithing, 1885
Beach & Mettler offered horseshoeing and blacksmithing in Elmira from the 1880s through the early 1940s. Around 1925, they began providing automobile repair services as well.
View of West Water Street from Main Street, Elmira, 1890s
By the late 1800s, there were hundreds of horses on the streets of Elmira. The large number of animals caused sanitation problems as each horse produced between fifteen and thirty pounds of manure a day.
Ladies and gentleman in horse-drawn vehicle, 1905
By the late 1800s, there were over twenty different kinds of carriages for transporting people. There were also numerous specialized horse-drawn vehicles like fire engines, ice wagons, and hearses.
Horse-drawn wagon loaded with scenery materials for the Lyceum Theatre, 1908
Horses made it possible to move larger amounts of material over longer distances. While a person can carry about 50 pounds, a horse can carry 200 pounds and pull as much as 2,000 pounds on a wheeled vehicle.
Eugene Kenner and his horse on West Water Street in Elmira, 1940s
After automobiles took over in the United States, horses were generally kept only as pets or for horseracing. The horse and buggy, however, is still an everyday means of transportation for groups like the Amish and some Mennonites.