GOING, GOING, GONE:

                              HORSE-DRAWN VEHICLES, PART THREE

(Source of image: Florida State Archives)

TOP PICTURE -- Here's an African American man and his ox cart in the Jacksonville area during the 1870s.  Only about ten years before, slavery had been legal, and this person had probably been property, just like his beast of burden.

MIDDLE IMAGE -- In 1915, this fire station stood in Springfield at the corner of 4th & Main.  Captain W. M. Goddard is pictured on the left.  During an emergency, at least some of the city's stations could harness their horses in just a few seconds.  Special harnessing rigs hung from the ceiling and would quickly drop on the animals, readying them for action. You can still see several stalls in which some of the department's horses used to be kept.  Situated at Metro Park near Alltel Stadium, the fascinating Fire Museum is housed in an old station dating from 1902, a year after the Great Fire.  The structure was originally located on downtown Catherine Street prior to its move to the present spot.  It used to stand near the pre-trial detention center.

BOTTOM PHOTO -- The picture of this ox-drawn vehicle was taken in Jacksonville during the 1870s.  The sign in the rear reads "C. Parkhurst," who doesn't appear in the surviving city directories for that decade.  Note the deeply rutted, sandy road that was probably littered with animal droppings.

HORSE SENSE -- Just as our pets today can assume dependable routines, so could the horses that belonged to our ancestors.  A wonderful illustration of this came from Clara Link, a grandmother of the website manager of JacksonvilleStory.com. 

In February 2002, Clara passed away in Gainesville, Florida, at the age of 100.  Before her death, however, "Granny" had long recalled the horse-and-buggy days of her youth.  A favorite tale centered on the Saturday trips into Gainesville for farm supplies.  At the end of a busy day of buying and socializing, young Clara & her family would start back home in a wagon.  Night would quickly descend on the unlit dirt roads.  Everyone in the farm cart would fall asleep -- And this included her father Jerry, the driver!  The horse would know where to go, though.  He'd eventually pull the wagon into the front yard and then wait patiently for someone to wake up.

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