When the horseless carriage made its impact as the major mode of transportation around the turn of the nineteenth centruy, it replaced a tradition of wheeled vehicles that saw their origins far back into Antiquity. The American buggy fueled the popular taste for individual transportation in rural as well as urban settings. In Central Pennsylvania even today the presence of buggies still persists with numerous groups of people resisting technological innovation in efforts to retain a lifestyle of the past. The history of the buggy in America appears to have had its inception around the 1850s with the intention of providing a vehicle that would exhibit a number of desirable properties over its predecessor coaches and wagons. First, it limited transport of riders to two, providing a means of personal transportation for such individuals as physicians and landlords who wanted to avoid the delays imposed upon them in larger vehicles when additional passengers requested rides. Moreover, the nature of rutted and poorly maintained roadways at mid-century made heavier vehicles more cumbersome and difficult to manage. The lightweight buggy, built to clip along at a brisk pace, was the answer to the transportation needs of the nation. Its ease of handling because of its weight, also made it suitable for women to drive. Charles M. Snyder in his essay, Buggy Town: An Era of American Transporation, 1984, notes the popularity of the vehicle: The word "buggy" was scarcely a part of the American vocabulary until mid-century. In fact for some years after the public was flocking to acquire them, most of the manufacturers continue to call their businesses coach or carriage works. But it was the buggy which became their principal stock in trade, and "horse and buggy days" remains an appropriate expression of the era between 1865 and 1915.1 The means of spreading the word on the design and manufacture of buggies took place in the literature of The Carriage Monthly, a journal began in 1865. Carriage Builders' National Association, organized in 1872, held annual conventions at Madison Garden in New York at which designers and manufacturers could develop advances on the mechanics and decoattive treatments of the vehicle. In the first published manufacturing of the buggy, a number of high-level artisans were employed including, among others, the tanner, the blacksmith, the machinist, the carpenter, the woodworker, the painter, and the wheelwright. Buggies were manufactured in a particular order, beginning with the body, the wheel, the gears (axles and springs), shafts and poles, and, finally, paint and trimmings. As the form of the buggy evolved, big city manufacturers referred to their type or style by terms familiar to the public: piano box, square coal box, cut under, panel seat, square box, spindle seat, the Jenny Lind, and the Brewster. The piano box buggy was by far the most popular in the early 20th century. Numerous centers for the production of the buggy were established both in large cities and small rural towns. The intense demand for more buggies developed a kind of cottage industry in which manufacturing companies sprang up everywhere, increasing their production before the advent of the auto. Success stories may be told by the names of prominent manufacturers--the Brewster, for instance--however, smaller successes also appeared in regional productions of the vehicle. One such success story may be found in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, a small town situated northwest of the Susquehanna River Valley not far from Susquehanna University. Lovingly referred to as "Buggy Town," it once supported over 70 family-owned companies producing buggies. Early days saw the fabrication of all manner of parts and elements of the buggy's structure, however, the machine-manufactured parts business began to flourish in the last quarter of the century making assembly of the vehicle easier, so new emphasis was placed on custom finishing. Among the Mifflinburg buggy companies was a prominent firm founded by William A. Heiss in 1883. Actively producing some of the community's finest examples, Heiss continued to operate well into "post-buggy days," finally succumbing to the automobile's impact as did most of the Mifflinburg companies between 1908 and 1912. The William A. Heiss Coach Works, manufacturer of quality buggies, survives today in a new form--that of the Mifflinburg Buggy Museum. Several buildings, including the blacksmith shop, the family home, and the repository of display center, have been preserved in a pristine state, housing buggies of various types from the community as a museum of historic artifacts related to the development of the buggy in Mifflinburg. The Lore Degenstein Gallery brings this exhibition of a selection of objects from the museum, including examples of authentically restored buggies which tell the story of a place of honor for this important utility vehicle. Various other museums and collections have provided additional objects. Through the gracious accommodations of the Board of Directors of the Buggy Museum and the museum's director, James Remar, we are pleased to hold an exhibition which portrays American ingenuity in one of its icipient forms, the art of invention and productivity.   Valerie Livingston   1 Charles M. Snyder. Buggy Town: An Era in American Transportation. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1984, 9. The William A. Heiss Coach Works. Vintage photograph. Collection of the Mifflinburg Buggy Museum.

Last Reviewed By Kimberly Hespos, Jody Horn, Collections Manager Lore Degenstein Gallery Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA 17870 Telephone: 570-372-4059 Fax: 570-372-2729