On Sunday, October 18, the Pike County Historical Society and Museum will offer horse-drawn carriage rides aboard the historic 1850s coach, the Hiawatha.

Reserved departures will leave the museum at 608 Broad Street beginning at 1 p.m. Rides cost $25 per person, with proceeds supporting the coach’s maintenance and preservation.

Bob and Tater, guided by our friends at Brookvalley Farm, will take you and your companions on a historic coach ride along Milford’s quiet side streets.

For more information or to reserve a ride, call 570-296-8126.

Built in 1850, the Hiawatha originally carried passengers along the Owego Turnpike to destinations northwest and back. As rail travel replaced canals and stage routes, the coach’s role and route changed. The Hiawatha is a Concord coach, an American horse-drawn vehicle used for stage, mail, and hotel service. It was built by the Abbot-Downing Company of Concord, New Hampshire, which gave the coach type its name. Its leather thoroughbrace suspension was designed for rough terrain, allowing the coach body to sway while absorbing shocks.

In later years, the Hiawatha became a familiar sight around Milford, carrying passengers to and from the Erie Railroad station in Port Jervis and transporting summer visitors to the inns and boarding houses that supported the town’s early tourism industry.