Alonzo Ames--Stage Coach Driver

From the Sept 19, 1924 Potsdam Herald-Recorder, where it was taken from the Norwood News:

 

One of the features of the big Labor day parade here on September 1 will be an old Concord stage coach that once ran between Massena and Norwood, then Potsdam Junction. The coach was last on exhibition in a parade here a few years ago and now stands in a shed at the Grasse River shipyard. Through the efforts of the American Legion, in charge of the plans for Labor day, it will be dusted off, the axles greased and a general overhauling given it. And on the day of the parade the old timers will gaze upon it and recall incidents that happened in those days before the railroad entered Massena.

The stage coach was a popular mode of travel up to the time the railroad came here in 1886. And even after that the lines were operated for some time. One of the few living North Country stage drivers is Alonzo Ames, of Massena, who recalls with interest the events of those coaching days.

Mr. Ames drove stage between Massena and Potsdam Junction in 1874 and 1875, being employed by Sidney Phelps, then proprietor of the Whitney House at the Junction, and Melvin Scripture, then of Potsdam, later of Massena and now living in Hermon. There was a rival line in those days, operated by Kemp & Holmes, proprietors of the American House at the Junction.

Each line had two coaches, although as a rule only one coach on each line was operated, the other being kept for emergency. The Concords were heavy vehicles, weighing about 1,300 pounds and drawn by four horses. The bodies were so arranged that when the coaches were in motion they rocked back and forth on heavy leather straps, which made travel as comfortable as possible under the circumstances.

Inside were three seats, accommodating nine passengers. On the top were accommodations for six more people, besides the driver. Sometimes, however, the coaches carried more than 20, besides baggage, mail and express.

It took about two and one-half hours to make the run. For example, a coach would leave Massena at 7:30 a.m. and arrive at the Junction about 10:00. It would leave the Junction on the return trip at 2:00 p.m. and arrive in Massena bout 4:30. That wasn't so bad, for 15 miles, considering the load the horses pulled and the condition of the roads, which were none too good in those days. Horses were changed at Raymondville, about half way between Massena and the Junction.

"I well remember the first morning I started driving," said Mr. Ames, who is now about 75 years of age. "Dennis Regan, who formerly drove for the same line as I, was then driving on the Kemp & Holmes line. He started about five minutes ahead of me, as I was delayed by the mail. When 'Sid' Phelps gave me the word to go, he also told me to beat 'Den' if I had to kill the horses in doing so. But that wasn't necessary. 'Den" had green horses. Mine were well seasoned to the work. And so, by the time Raymondville was reached I had caught up with him. When we drove into Massena I was leading by several lengths.

"We carried mail and express besides baggage on our line but I never was armed. Sometimes I had as much as $10,000 in bills and gold in a bag which I sat on, but I never had any trouble and always delivered it safely."

"Roads were pretty poor then. At Kent's Mills the sand was about a foot deep and when we ploughed through it we were covered with a thick coating. It was a mighty dusty trip."

"In those days the Hatfield and other hotels at the Springs were running, and we carried a good many people back and forth. I sometimes had as many as 22 on my coach. The line was operated summer and winter. When the snow came we used large sleighs, some of them covered. The sleighs had four seats."

"'Mel' Scripture later bought out the stage business from 'Sid' Phelps, who retained the livery. 'Mel' then moved to Massena. He is now living in Hermon.

"Some of the other old-time drivers were 'Jim' Claflin, Alec Clemons and Albert Allen, all long since dead. 'Hank' Monk, who once drove between Massena and Waddington, was before my time. He finally went west and drove out there, where he gained quite a reputation, particularly after his famous ride with Horace Greeley. Lyman Drake is still living and resides at the Springs. He was on the Junction route along with Guy Bridges and George Hawes.

"The stages always began and ended their trip at White's Hotel in whose livery the horses were quartered. The fare then was a dollar each way. We always made quite a stir when we drove into town, particularly if we were having a race, as we often did."

 

(Note: Mr. Ames, 79, died in Massena on August 18, 1928).

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