The Coach Trip
In January 1842, a distinguished British visitor arrived in the United States to take a tour of the nation. In the course of his visit, which lasted six months, Charles Dickens availed himself of every form of transportation in use at the time. He traveled in canal boats, steamboats, by rail, by carriage, and by coach, observing closely the manner of conveyance and his fellow passengers. His report of his journey to and through the United States was published as American Notes for General Circulation, and his comments on the manners and social behavior of Americans were as controversial as they were amusing.
On one leg of his journey Dickens traveled down the Ohio River in a steamboat, a growing amusement of those traveling to expend leisure time, as well as for commercial purposes. After arriving at Cincinnati, where he stayed several days, the next leg of his journey was by commercial coach through Ohio. Traveling by coach was a slow, bone jarring process, along poor roads, often deeply rutted in some sections, and punctuated by stops to change the horses. Sometimes the stops offered facilities and refreshments for the passengers, and sometimes they did not. Dickens noted that the road between Cincinnati and Columbus was macadamized its entire length.
Dickens report of the sights encountered and services offered the vacationer traveling by coach was somewhat different than those in the travel guides of the day, some of which he referred to himself in setting his itinerary. Dickens described arriving at a typical village inn at midday, with numerous “idlers lingering about the tavern, waiting for the public dinner.” He was disturbed to discover that the inn in which he would be forced to dine was a “Temperance House,” offering tea, coffee, lemonade, and water, but not the brandy he craved. “This preposterous forcing of unpleasant drinks down the reluctant throats of travelers is not at all uncommon in America…” he wrote.
The coach in which Dickens traveled ran all through the night, with its frequent stops to water the horses or change the team not offering refreshment for the passengers, and the jostling of the crowded coach offering little opportunity for sleep. Arriving in Columbus, Dickens was forced to hire a private coach for the next leg of his journey as there was no scheduled service to his destination. Vacationers and business travelers of the day often faced this dilemma, limiting some travel to those with the means to afford the expensive private coaches. Dickens himself was carrying a large amount of gold to cover travel expenses, and was as much of a celebrity as any person in America during his trip.
Upon arriving in Lower Sandusky, where they were to spend the night, Dickens was disconcerted to learn that the room in which he and his wife were to spend the night had no locks on its doors. Considering the amount of gold coin he was carrying and the absence of any security he expressed his concern to the innkeeper. He was informed that his was a problem encountered by many travelers, and the further one was from a larger town, the more likely one was have difficulty. The locals would easily surmise that the traveler was a person of means, evidenced by the fact they were traveling by private coach. In the event, Dickens had no problem, other than a poor night’s sleep, and continued his journey the next day with his funds intact.