A Glimpse into the Past by Eden Monroe

 

 

 https://bookswelove.net/monroe-eden/

A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST

 

When man invented the wheel, he was only limited by his imagination as to what to what he’d eventually use it for.

Over time horse-drawn carriages became a popular form of conveyance. They are featured prominently in the romantic suspense novel, Bound for Somewhere, Book One of The Kavenaghs, a series set in Eastern Canada during the 1870’s. Garrett Kavenagh was keen to rise above his humble beginnings and find his place in the industry that had long fascinated him:

“He’d seen fine carriages pass by on the road from time to time, pulled by equally fine horses. That had strengthened his dream and the opportunity to realize it had now been unexpectedly laid before him…. Someday he’d help build those carriages he told himself, and he would take great pride in that work.”

But first the wheel….

According to www.citeco.fr/10000-years-history-economics/the-origins/invention-of-the-wheel: “The wheel was invented in the 4th millennium BC in Lower Mesopotamia (modern-​​day Iraq), where the Sumerian people inserted rotating axles into solid discs of wood. It was only in 2000 BC that the discs began to be hollowed out to make a lighter wheel.

This innovation led to major advances in two main areas. First, transport: the wheel began to be used on carts and battle chariots.”

 

Interestingly, there are still chariot builders today, although of course not to the same extent as was practiced in antiquity. We think of chariots in terms of warfare or racing, or indeed hunting, but this open vehicle (two or four wheels) was likely first used in royal funeral processions says britannica.com/technology/chariot: “The chariot apparently originated in Mesopotamia in about 3000 BC; monuments from Ur and Tutub depict battle parades that include heavy vehicles with solid wheels, their bodywork framed with wood and covered with skins. On the earliest chariots the wheels rotated on a fixed axle that was linked by a draft pole to the yoke of a pair of oxen. To the axle was attached a superstructure consisting of a platform protected by sidescreens and a high dashboard. These Mesopotamian chariots were mounted by both spearman and charioteer, although it is doubtful that fighting was conducted from the vehicle itself.”

Automakers would eventually take their place too in the scheme of things, and we must remember who brung it to the dance. As set out in ingeniumcanada,org, that would be Henry Seth Taylor who “beat Henry Ford by about 30 years with a Canadian-made ‘steam pleasure carriage.’ “

So the first automaker in Canada established himself in Stanstead, Quebec in the 1800’s, again according to ingeniumcanada.org:

“Taylor was a skilled artisan and loved to build things, and decided to make a steam carriage after seeing an American model in action. Using his metal-working skills, he crafted the carriage’s two-cylinder engine and driving mechanism while a local blacksmith, Joseph Mosher, constructed the carriage frame. Taylor first drove his steam-powered car in 1867 and demonstrated it publicly on September 24, 1868, at the Stanstead agricultural fair. Powered by a rear-mounted coal-fired boiler, the car used a tiller instead of a wheel for steering. Taylor had no plan to produce his invention for sale: he built it to test his mechanical skill and satisfy his own curiosity. Once he’d accomplished these goals, he put the steam buggy aside and moved on to other projects, leaving the buggy stored in a safe place that protected its metal parts from the ravages of time….”

The invention of the automobile certainly impacted carriage making, but there was an overlapping of the two industries at one point because business was still booming in carriage factories during the mid to late 1800’s. There were once carriage factories aplenty in North America alone, and in some instances fascinating relics remain of this bygone era. Preserved as museums, they provide a tantalizing glimpse into the past. Such as the hugely popular Campbell Carriage Factory Museum (tantramarheritage.ca/) located in Sackville, New Brunswick. It proved to be a treasure trove of important information in the writing of Bound For Somewhere. The (factory employee) characters mentioned in the book are of course pure invention, but a much-deserved salute is in order for this wonderful historical facility.

Campbell Carriage Factory

 

Started in 1855 by Ronald Campbell, this family business would thrive for nearly one hundred years. It was John Beal who undertook the original construction of the building in 1838 and used it as a tannery, before it was purchased and converted into a carriage factory by the Campbell family. High-quality horse-drawn vehicles were the Campbells’ basic stock and trade, but they also made tools, agricultural equipment and funeral caskets. (Subsequent generations included hay dealership and funeral undertaking as part of their business plan.)

A blacksmith shop was added to the Campbell Carriage Factory in 1856, certainly a mainstay in carriage-making with the custom-made metal components for sleighs, wagons and carriages it was able to produce, and much more.

And production was brisk at the carriage factory, by 1870 turning out up to forty wheeled vehicles and twenty sleighs a year. Even that number was improved upon during their time in operation. Nevertheless, like most such factories they eventually had to close shop as the automobile increased in popularity. But back in those halcyon days of the 1870’s, there were many young men who shared Garrett Kavenagh’s dream and found the means to take it all the way to a better life:

“Garrett had a mind that whatever he said the old man would find it amusing. ‘Waiting on tables, finding out what people want to eat and bringing it to them,’ he explained. ‘It’s just for now though,’ he added when he saw Gault winding up for another guffaw. ‘I got a job waiting at the carriage factory. I’m going to be making carriages.’

‘For certain?’

‘For certain, and someday I’ll own one.’

Gault kept his eyes on the road ahead. ‘Sure you will, and a pair of fine horses to pull it too.’

He was expecting that. ‘I will,’ he said with conviction, ‘someday.’”