THE PORT CLINTON BUGGY COMPANY - Linda Higgins

This Port Clinton firm evidently existed only for a short time, but I’d like to think that these entrepreneurs felt they’d been successful nonetheless. I found very little information about the company, but the history of the buggy itself clarified the reason for the company’s abbreviated existence.

The term “buggy” was new in the 18^th century. In his Treatise on Carriages (1796), London coach-maker William Fulton first used it to describe a light phaeton or chaise built to seat only one person, and only for swift and lightweight travel.

The vehicle’s earliest history stems from Mesopotamia, around 3500 B.C., with the use of two-wheeled animal-drawn carts and military chariots. By 100 B.C., Romans were using chains or leather straps to suspend the passenger box above the wheel axles. The “whirlicote” was a bulky, decorated, suspended and covered medieval carriage used in the 14^th century by English royalty.

Hungarian coaches in the 15^th and 16^th centuries added features providing improved maneuverability and passenger comfort, including large rear wheels and leather or fabric tops. These were popular throughout Western Europe. In the 17^th century the pivoting front axle and chain suspension were added to improve comfort and maneuverability. Steel springs were also developed around that time to absorb shocks from the rough ride.

In the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, horse-drawn vehicles were the primary transportation in American rural and small towns. This was considered the “buggy era.” Port Clinton, founded in 1828, was a small lakeshore town with few roads. All types of travelers (settlers, fishermen, hunters, and merchants) made heavy use of buggies for short trips throughout the area. Buggies were practical vehicles that could handle those primitive roads.

Buggies were originally “. . . intended for lightness in draught, for the rider to sit snug in, and to preclude the possibility of an associate,” and were the most popular horse-drawn vehicles available. They were four-wheeled and simply built, meant to carry one or two people. Around 1850 they were being built to carry more passengers and the design became more complicated. By 1900 they were being mass-produced throughout the United States.

Buggy manufacturers had their own names for their particular vehicles, and the original definition changed a bit if the manufacturer added seating or wheels or other major components for a specific purpose. The Coal-Box Buggy, the Buggy-Boat or the Doctor’s Buggy could sell for as little as $25, but averaged $40. Buggies were made all over the country and all had different designs. Brewster & Company of New York was a highly respected maker, but local buggy-makers were well able to make a quality vehicle. Their success depended greatly on the safety and viability of the design as much as attractiveness.

Port Clinton Buggy Company was opened in 1890 by Charles W. Seufert, Frank Reichert, and Christ J. Seufert. It was a relatively large company and was in competition during its short lifespan with similar manufacturers throughout the country. The firm built all types of buggies and vehicles for the retail and wholesale trades. They also offered general blacksmithing and repairs.

Their buggies were used for transporting fish, lumber and other goods between Port Clinton and nearby settlements. They moved people to and from churches, school and markets. They made possible mail and courier services before the arrival of railroads and automobiles.

The buggy era here began to fade in the late 19^th century, when the Lake Erie and Western Railroad arrived in the 1880s. Travel and transport of goods and services were made easier and faster and in better conditions for longer lengths of time. By the early 20^th century, automobiles and buses also replaced buggies for most needs. The company probably prospered during its short tenure, but by the 1920s buggy manufacturing no longer would have been necessary.

According to information in a local news article from 1961 about an original buggy being refurbished, the Port Clinton Buggy Company might have closed before 1911. Perhaps a Seufert or Reichert descendant might have documents that could answer some questions for us.