The true buckboard has been defined as a light four-wheeled vehicle in which the body and springs are replaced by long, elastic boards, supported at the ends directly by the axles. The driver’s comfort, as well as that of his passengers, depended upon the resiliency of the boards themselves, and the buckboard proved a far more comfortable vehicle for long trips than might be expected.
This buckboard was used at the Kildare Club in the Adirondacks in the 1880’s. After this club was sold, the buckboard was used at Nehasane, in Hamilton County, New York, a game preserve and hunting camp owned by Dr. W. Seward Webb.
Gift of Mr. J. Watson Webb, Shelburne, Vermont.
TRIPLE BUCKBOARD
Body and gear in natural varnish finish. Trimmed with black leather.
Single and double buckboards are often found, but this triple buckboard is considered a rare example. It was made for Dr. E. D. Ferguson of Troy, New York about 1885 to his order in Glens Falls, New York. It descended to his grandson, the little boy sitting with his mother in the rear seat of the buckboard in the old photo below, who gave it to the museum in 1953.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Everard Childs, Manchester, Vermont
