The Conchord Stagecoach carried as many as 18 people--nine in the leather-lined interior and up to nine more clinging to the top. With a strongbox full of gold under the driver's seat, a stagecoach pulled by six-horse team was an icon of western commerce and development. In 1867, Wells Fargo advertised a 'through-time' of 15 days from Sacramento to Omaha on its route through "the beautiful scenery of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains." Since then the Concord Coach has been a symbol of Wells Fargo & Co.Master craftsmen at the Abbot-Downing Company of Concord, New Hampshire, joined ash, elm, basswood, hickory, and oak into a distinctive oval-shaped body, carried upon perfectly balanced wheels rimmed with iron. Leather "thorough braces," produced from ox hides, eased the ride over frozen roads and hard, sun-baked trails. This suspension system gave the coach a rocking motion and led overland passenger Mark Twain to call it "a cradle on wheels."
This coach, Abbot-Downing #306, is the OLDEST in Wells Fargo's current fleet. Built in 1854, it had a long career carrying mail between Halifax and Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada until 1890. It had the honor of carrying two British monarchs--the Prince of Wales (King Edward VII) in 1860; and Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) in 1951.
The finished coach was painted red with a straw yellow undercarriage. Artists added scroll detailing and a landscape on each door panel. Inside, leather upholstery padded the jolts of the road. Historically, teams of four or six horses were used. Sometimes even mules were used.
Wells Fargo & Co. History Exhibit is located in the Well Fargo & Co. building (formerly the First National Bank of Oregon building) at 5th and Jefferson. Banking Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00-6:00.
Instructions for logging waymark: visit the History Exhibit on the second floor of the Wells Fargo & Co. building. Log your impressions. A photograph is required of the Wells Fargo's Conchord Stagecoach (the plaque in view) with you and/or your GPSr in the picture.