The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-09-28
GOSSIP OF ADAY'
The Stage Coach in Its
PaImy Days Here.
Predictions of Slaughter by
Early Railroads.
Were Not Fulfilled and the Stage
Coach Became a Memory.

II Is very seldom now that one sees a
stage coach, and when one does appear
is generally some old rattle-trap affair
not at all like the mag nihcent vehicles
OF three-quarters OF a century ago. In
the days before the railroad, when land
journeys were made almost wholly by
Stage, Providence used to be a very i'm
portant place OF stage coach activity.
Even before the introduction OF steam
boats the stages used TO connect here
with the packets for New York. In the
height of the popularity of packets a
procession of stages 10 and sometimes 20
in nupiber used TO dash down South Main
street just before the arrival and starting
OF the boats for New York. Thesc stages
carried the passengers to and from Bos-
ton and their Importance grew with the
introduction and expansion OF the steam
boat.
The time OF the trip from Boston to
Providence, a distance OF IA miles, varied
from I've to six hours, and three changes
of horses were made. One Of the pleas
ATTEST features OF the journey was the
dinner at Wrentham, then a small village
clustering around two famous hostelries
known as Polley's and Fuller's These
hotels stoo1 opposite each other
and between them and the stage
companies and passengers a curious
though very satisfactory arrangement
was In vogue. Going one way the pass
engers all dined at Polley's and going
;he other they oined at Fullers. There
were no noisy runners to make life miser-
sble by trying to induce the traveller to
patronize this or that hotel, Eo noisy
xong or other modern devices to attract
Grade. To the passengers it mattered
very little whether they dined at Fuller's
or at Polley's, for at either place they
were certain TO be satisfied. Indeed.
the memory OF tnose Wrentham dinners
fingered long after the railroad lad
oriveu out the stage coaches.
But-the stage coaching days were num-
bered. Steam had proven its efficiency
and economy on the water, and 1t was
only In the nature of things that 1t
should be soon employed on land. On
June 2, 1885. the Boston q Providence
railroad, the construction of which had
been going on for some time. had been
20 nearly completed that an excursion
was run from Providence over the route
on that day. Steam, however, didn't
furnish the motive power on that &C.
casion, for the locomotive, which had
been huilr in Pnila ielphia, did not work
properly. Horses were therefore sub
stituted and the trip to Boston was made
with one or two mishaps, such nc the
rolling of the horses down an embank-
ment.
On June IS the cars began making
regular trips between Boston and Provi-
denoe and that marked the begin ming
Dfs the decline and fall OF the stage coach.
Curiously enough the stage coach owners
fclt themselves 90 powerful that they did
not anticipate any serious opposition
from the steam cars. According to them
the people would not patronize the cars
ana by way OF explaining their position
they ssia "let train run of tie track
while going 80 miles an hour and kill two
or three hundred people few times and
folks will be ready TO stick TO the stage
coaches" 1t was their custom also to
declare that steam cars were an inven-
tion for checking the too rapid growth of
the population by slaughtering three or
four thousand people every year. But the