Elmhurst museum offers horse-drawn carriage rides as part of exhibit
Elmhurst Historical Museum will bring its lessons into the streets Sunday when a horse-drawn carriage tour will help people see what it was like to travel suburban roads in the 19th century.
The 20-minute tours around downtown Elmhurst are offered in conjunction with the museum's current exhibit, Going Places, which is on loan from the Long Island Museum of American Art.
"We can't have an exhibit on horse-drawn travel without a horse-drawn carriage to ride," said Leslie Goddard, community programs coordinator with the Elmhurst Historical Museum.
Two horses will pull a Conestoga-style wagon around downtown. Rides depart every 20 minutes from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday from the museum, 120 E. Park Ave.
The one-day only tours are a first for the museum, and Goddard expects they might sell out. Two of the six timeslots already are booked, filling the wagon to its 16-passenger capacity.
"There are a lot of horse and wagon companies, but many are just buggy rides," Goddard said. "We wanted to offer the wagon experience.
"This looks like a covered wagon of the day," she added. "This is the way most people came to suburbs from Chicago in early days of Chicago history, the 1840s and earlier."
But one thing will be very different: the cargo. A wagon like this would not have been transporting 16 people for the five-hour trip from Chicago to Elmhurst. It might have carried a family with all the items they needed to build a home and settle into life in DuPage County.
"In some ways, these were the 18-wheelers of their day," Goddard said, noting they were used for long-distance hauling.
Goddard said a trip to the museum will help highlight the different kinds of horse-drawn transportation, surprising a lot of people who think all carriages are the same.
"Carriages were as diverse as cars and trucks are today," Goddard said.
And they were used for things such as fighting fires and delivering groceries.
Sunday's tours will talk about the golden age of carriages, which Goddard describes as from 1800 to the dawn of the automobile, around 1910 or 1920.
"People will learn a little about what they would have seen if they would have traveled the same streets during that time," Goddard said.
"The tour will talk about Elmhurst ... about things like what kind of businesses you would have found in your town at that time. If you were traveling somewhere and needed to get around, how you would rent a carriage from a livery. If your wagon broke down, you would go to a wagon maker or harness maker or blacksmith shop."
And, depending on who participates, there might be a little singing involved, too.
Goddard said there are "more songs about carriages than you think." Specifically, she mentions "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" from the musical "Oklahoma!" and the Christmas favorite "Jingle Bells."
Going Places just opened last weekend and there's already a lot of enthusiasm, Goddard said.
"There has been a lot of interest from people who love horses and 19th century history buffs," Goddard said.
On Sunday, the museum also will offer an event to appeal to its youngest guests. From 1 to 3 p.m., the regular second Sunday kids craft program will give children a chance to make a horse out of foam marshmallows. No registration is required.
Going Places continues through May 25 during museum hours, 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sunday. Admission is free.
For carriage ride reservations, call (630) 833-1457. Cost is $5 for adults, $2.50 for children and seniors. It includes admission to Going Places and refreshments. For details, visit www.elmhurst.org.
If you go
What: Horse-drawn carriage rides through downtown Elmhurst
Where: Elmhurst Historical Museum, 120 E. Park Ave., Elmhurst
When: Every 20 minutes from 2 to 4 p.m.
Cost: $5 for adults, $2.50 for children and seniors
Call: (630) 833-1457 for tickets
Details: www.elmhurst.org