Wells Fargo History Museum, Portland Museum Text

1 2016 Wells Fargo Bank, all rights reserved. For public use. Wells Fargo History Museum , Portland Museum Text 2 [Coach plate] The Concord Coach A stagecoach carried as many as 18 people nine in the leather-lined interior and nine more clinging to the top. With a strongbox full of gold under the driver s seat, a stagecoach pulled by a six-horse team was an icon of Western commerce and development. In 1867, Wells Fargo advertised a through-time of 15 days from Sacramento to Omaha on its route through the beautiful scenery of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. Since then the Concord Coach has been the symbol of Wells Fargo & Co. Master craftsmen at the Abbot-Downing Company of Concord, New Hampshire, joined ash, elm, basswood, hickory and oak into the distinctive oval-shaped body, 3 carried upon perfectly balanced wheels rimmed with iron.

2 Leather thoroughbraces, produced from ox hides, eased the ride over frozen roads and hard, sun-baked trails. This suspension system gave the coach a rocking motion and led overland passenger Mark Twain to call it a cradle on wheels. This coach, Abbot-Downing #306, is the oldest in Wells Fargo 's current fleet. Built in 1854, it had a long career carrying mail between Halifax and Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada until 1890. It had the honor of carrying two British monarchs - the Prince of Wales (King Edward VII) in 1860; and Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) in 1951. A finished coach was painted red with a straw yellow undercarriage. Artists added scroll detailing and a 4 landscape on each door panel. Inside, leather upholstery padded the jolts of the road. [Stagecoach travel case] Aboard the Coach Climb Aboard! You ve paid your $50 for a through six-day trip to Sacramento, at 7 cents a mile.

3 As you settle in on the front leather bench with your back to the driver, you eye the narrow jump seat with just a leather strap backrest, and the rear seat beyond that. A peddler, who has traveled these roads often, climbs aboard, and suggests that another seat would be much more comfortable. Figuring correctly that you have the best seat aboard, you decline the offer, and eye the damask hangings, instead. 5 Two ladies with hoops and crinoline, take over the back seat. One has a baby son, who has eaten something sticky, and young fingers are dispersing it on all neighboring garments, while lustily yelling. The peddler and another seasoned traveler fill up the rest of the front seat, while an elegantly dressed attorney and two Chinese miners take the center, their knees interlocked with yours. A crack of the whip and you depart Portland in a hurry; with the grand exit made, the driver soon slows the horses.

4 The finely crafted egg-shaped body of the Concord is more roomy than it seems by appearance, while the leather thoroughbraces give the Concord a swinging and swaying motion, cushioning the shocks of the ruts. You sit back and enjoy the scenery - through the continual misty rain that blows in the open windows, even 6 when the leather shades are down. A Moment s Rest POP! Goes the whip, and the six horses pick up speed. You must be entering a town. On a dry sun-baked road, a plume of dust follows you, envelops you, and renders your duster almost worthless. As the driver stops the coach before the local hotel, hostlers quickly appear to change your team. A half-hour for a meal at $1 a head. Meat, potatoes, bread, butter, and the all-necessary coffee appear before you. Best of all is the famed Oregon fruit, in pies and fresh: peaches, plums, apricots, pears, figs, strawberries and blackberries.

5 After two nights on the road, with hills, mountains, trees and canyons shadowy bright in the full moon, and abandoned cabins, claims, and sluices ghostly pale, you 7 reach Jacksonville for a night of rest. Of your original coach mates, only the Chinese are still with you. They will leave the coach at Happy Camp, just over the California border. You retrieve your 25-pound bag, hoping to find something dust-free, and a washbasin to remove the trip s grime. Settling into a bed, with your loudly snoring roommate, a fitful sleep awaits. All too soon, the coachman s horn sounds. In darkness, you stumble out to the coach and climb aboard to climb the Siskiyous into California. While in the coach, your baggage - maximum weight: 25 pounds - joined the heap of luggage on top. Although a wool suit and hat, or bonnet and dress, kept you properly covered, on a chilly night s run there was nothing like fresh hot coals in the foot warmer.

6 8 At the stations, if there was a moment and a bit of light, you record your impressions of the day s travel. [Picture identifiers] Roseburg Springfield Barron s Station [Small caption] Omaha Herald, 1877 Tips for Stagecoach Travelers The best seat inside a stage is the one next to the driver. Even if you have a tendency to seasickness when riding backwards you ll get over it and will get less jolts and jostling. Don t let any sly elph trade you his mid-seat. 9 In cold weather don t ride with tight-fitting boots, shoes, or gloves. When the driver asks you to get off and walk do so without grumbling, he won t request it unless absolutely necessary. If the team runs away sit and take your chances. If you jump, nine out of ten times you will get hurt. In very cold weather abstain entirely from liquor when on the road; because you will freeze twice as quickly when under its influence.

7 Don t growl at the food received at the station; stage companies generally provide the best they can get. Don t keep the stage waiting. Don t smoke a strong pipe inside the coach spit on the leeward side. If you have anything to drink in a bottle pass it around. Procure your 10 stimulants before starting as ranch (Stage Depot) whiskey is not nectar. Don t swear or lop over neighbors when sleeping. Take small change to pay expenses. Never shoot on the road as the noise might frighten the horses. Don t discuss politics or religion. Don t point out where murders have been committed especially if there are women passengers. Don t lag at the washbasin. Don t grease your hair, because travel is dusty. Don t imagine for a moment that you are going on a picnic. Expect annoyances, discomfort, and some hardship. 11 [Quote] On the afternoon of the 8th of October, I left Portland for San Francisco by the overland route.

8 At the time I speak of the Oregon Central Railroad was only completed to Salem. I took a seat in a coach of the California and Oregon Stage Company to commence my long ride. The day was warm and the coach well filled. Four gentlemen and two ladies with children occupied the inside while the driver had plenty of company on top. So making myself comfortable with a pillow to deaden the motion of the coach, I subsided into a corner and thought. Careful driving is required on these mountain roads, necessarily narrow in the most dangerous places, so that a few inches divergence from the single track would be a 12 sure upset into the ragged abysses of darkness below. The night was radiant. I never saw more brilliant heavens, even in the tropics, than on the Oregon Mountains. -Frances Fuller Victor, 1870 [Across from gold mining cases] Wells Fargo and the Asian Pacific Community: a valued relationship "The Company by its fair and impartial treatment of the public, has always enjoyed the special favor and patronage of the Chinese of the Pacific Coast, who have unbounded faith in its responsibility and integrity, both as an Express and a Bank.

9 " -1893 Wells Fargo advertisement at the Chicago Exposition 13 [Image] Wells Fargo s Directory of Chinese Business Houses listed over 1,100 Chinese businesses, including clam dealers, doctors, and grocers. Sam Lee, clam dealer, Seaside, Oregon, c. 1900 Oregon Historical Society, bb014058 14 Wells Fargo and the Asian Pacific Community: a valued relationship Wells Fargo s connection with the Asian community dates back to the gold rush era of the 1850s. Many Chinese miners and business owners depended on the company for secure banking and express services and became loyal customers. Wells Fargo reciprocated by publishing bilingual directories of Chinese businesses and hired interpreters to better serve the Chinese community. These samples from the Wells Fargo Corporate Archives, the Oregon Historical Society, and the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site show this valued relationship for financial success.

10 15 [Image] Chinese gold miners, c. 1860 Oregon Historical Society, bb004353 [Image] Hop Wo Laundry, Front Street, 1851 Wells Fargo s first Oregon office came to Front Street in 1852. Oregon Historical Society, bb001815 Chinese businesses in Oregon After Oregon s gold rush ended, the Chinese worked on farms, canned salmon, built railroads, and owned businesses. In 1882, Wells Fargo supported its Chinese customers by printing a bilingual directory of their businesses. Among the 63 listed were Hop Wo s laundry, 16 the Wing Sing Company (a Chinese grocer and labor contractor), and the Twin Wo Company (also a labor contractor). [Image] The Wing Sing Company, 55 Washington Street, Portland This photograph showed the aftermath of the 1894 flood. Oregon Historical Society, bb002412 [Image] The Twin Wo Company 244 Yamhill, Portland , c.