If you have been to any of the previous Andover Fourth of July celebrations, you have undoubtedly witnessed the Andover Lions Club Concord Coach along with stout pulling horses on the parade route. For 65 years the Lions Concord Coach has been a fixture in the Andover parade and will once again be front and center as we celebrate Independence Day this year.

Being new to the Fourth of July Committee, I was asking questions about the Lions Concord Coach and its significance to Andover and the parade.  These questions led me to Mr. Ron Evans of the Andover Lions Club. Mr. Evans and the Lions Club have showcased # 36 all around New Hampshire and have kept it in working condition all this time! What else I learned from Mr. Evans and others about the history of the Concord Coach shows why the Coach means so much in our country’s early history and to our hometown.

It starts with the Abbot-Downing Company, the manufactures of the Concord Coach.  In 1827 the Abbot-Downing Company opened their doors in Concord. While not the only company building stagecoaches in the early days of independence, the Concord Coach quickly became well known around the country due to great craftsmanship and some clever engineering. The Abbot-Downing design made for a more comfortable ride on dirt roads by utilizing thick leather straps called “throughbraces” that suspend the passenger cab above the wheels. With the rapid expansion of trade and travel over the lands of our newly independent country, this was a game changer. The Concord Coach would set the standards for stagecoach building for years to come.

The Concord Coach model was used regularly for mail delivery and passenger travel all over the country during this era.  Buffalo Bill famously toured the country featuring a Concord Coach pulled by horses in his Wild West shows. Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickock were Concord Coach drivers, or rode “Shotgun,” hauling and protecting gold and passengers. Hotels made the Concord Coach a staple for guest travel in New England. Wells Fargo at one time purchased 30 Concord Coaches according to the New England Historical Society for deliveries.  The Concord Coach would also be sold into countries such as Australia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. So, what makes the Lions Concord Coach special and significant to Andover?

In 1958 the Andover Lions Club, with the assistance from the Wallace Clark family of Potter Place, acquired the Lions Concord Coach from Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts. It was restored with attention to original period details. Records indicate manufacturing of the Lions Concord Coach began in 1852 making it 175 years old this year! It appears the Lions Concord Coach was first used on Cape Cod, Massachusetts for passenger and mail delivery. Also known as # 36 due to old painted lettering, the Lions Concord Coach has been featured in weddings and parades over the years and has been recognized at events like the Old Time Fair and Muster Field Farm Days. The Lions Concord Coach was honored to represent The New Hampshire Building at BIG E. But how unique is this Lions Coach?

Out of the roughly 1,800 Concord Coaches that were manufactured from 1827 to 1915 by Abbot-Downing, only approximately 160 are known to be in existence today, says Peter James of the Abbot-Downing Concord Coach Historical Society. While some of the remaining Concord Coaches are displayed in museums, many are no longer operational. Through the dedicated efforts of The Lions Club, Mr. Evans, Bill Leber, and past caretakers of the Coach Alan Thompson, Roger Henderson, and the Wallace Clark family, the Lions Concord Coach has remained in working condition for 65 years! Quite a feat. If anyone in town is interested in helping with the Coach in the years to come, or is an experienced Wheelwright, please reach out to the Lions Club for more information.

If you are interested in learning more about the Concord Coach, and its place in New Hampshire and early American history, a short documentary can be found at vimeo.com/19913795.