Story of Fairbury Carriage Co.

Until around 1900, the Fairbury economy was based upon horses.

Farmers used horses to farm their land. Citizens used horse-drawn buggies for transportation. Several businessmen imported horses from Europe to sell to local farmers. Fairbury had several livery stables where people or visitors could keep their horses.

The first mention in the Blade about the Fairbury Carriage Company was in 1909. Telephones had recently been installed in Fairbury, and the business phone number was updated to 380. Three Fairbury men owned this firm. The first partner was J. N. Bach, who owned a Fairbury lumberyard. The second partner was Joe Swing, a son of Albert Swing from Indiana. The third partner was Samuel R. Stoller (1867-1962).

Sam Stoller was the firm's sales manager. Sam was born in Metamora, Illinois. He married Caroline E. Hoffman of Fairbury in 1894. Sam and Caroline Stoller had one child, Nathalia Caroline Stoller, born in 1905.

In 1909, the firm moved to its new building on West Locust Street. It was at the northeast corner of the First and Locust Street intersection. In 1911, Elmer Odell secured a Michigan 30 auto dealership, and he located his office and salesroom in the building owned by the Fairbury Carriage Company.

The Michigan 30 was an automobile manufactured by the Michigan Buggy Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan. This firm produced automobiles between 1908 and 1913. Frank B. Lay owned the firm, which produced about 7,000 cars during its five years of existence. The Michigan 30 model had 30 horsepower, and the Michigan 40 had 40 horsepower. Henry Ford's Model T only had 20 horsepower.

In 1913, the State of Illinois inspected all businesses in Fairbury. In that audit, the Fairbury Carriage Company reported having four employees. At the Peoria Implement and Vehicle Show that year, the firm displayed four of its different makes of horse-drawn buggies. Fairbury Carriage Company sold three of the four demonstrator models at the show.

The firm advertised that they were reducing the prices of its horse-drawn buggies. They cut the cost of their steel wheel buggy from $85 to $105 to $55 to $75. They dropped the price of their rubber-tired carriage down to $85. This $85 price tag would be equivalent to $2,236 in today's dollars.

In the era of horse-drawn wagons, the Fairbury Apostolic Christian churches owned horse-drawn hearses. The third and last horse-drawn hearse was purchased by the South Side Church from Sam Stoller of the Fairbury Carriage Company in 1914. This horse-drawn hearse was sturdily built, with large side windows and lanterns that helped dispel the gloominess so characteristic of these vehicles. Since death had little regard for inclement weather, the driver occasionally suffered while performing his duties. Sam Steffen was the driver during the last funeral, where the horse-drawn hearse was used in 1925. A magnificent pair of black horses owned by Sam's father was used to pull it. After this, the local funeral homes provided an automotive hearse as part of their services.

The Fairbury Carriage Company placed employment advertisements in various newspapers in 1914. In the Cincinnati Enquirer, they advertised for a good, all-around carriage trimmer and painter.

In 1916, Frank L. Tipton and his family moved from Kentucky to Fairbury to work for the Fairbury Carriage Co. Just seven months after starting his new job, he had an unfortunate accident. Frank was sawing a strip of wood for the body of a buggy. Somehow, he got the fingers of his left hand under the saw. He lost his thumb and two fingers in the accident.       

In 1917, Miss Beatrice Hoker accepted a position at the Fairbury Carriage Company. One of the business partners, Joe Swing, married Miss Minnie Franke of Cissna Park. The firm sold two automobiles that year. Frank J. Kuntz of Strawn bought a new Oakland-six touring car, and J. M. Fetzer bought an Oakland roadster.

The 1918 Blade featured ads for the Oakland Sensible Six automobile, available for sale at the Fairbury Carriage Company. The firm also advertised that they sold Hercules trailers. These trailers could be used to haul produce, grain, milk cans, trunks, and furniture.

At the 1919 Fairbury Fair, the firm set up a display of their products, including their line of buggies, manure spreaders, and Hercules gasoline engines. When the merry-go-round at the Fairbury Fair quit working, the Fairbury Carriage Company came to the rescue and powered the carnival ride with one of their Hercules engines.

In 1921, the firm sold its building to Claudon Motors and moved to a building just west of Bach's lumberyard. This year was pivotal for the business because they announced that the Fairbury Carriage Company would stop producing handmade buggies. They offered wide tire utility Studebaker wagons for $125 at their new East End office. They also advertised the service of repairing automobile curtains and tops.

Sam Stoller turned 57 years old in 1924. He decided to close his shop and move to Peoria. In 1936, his first wife, Caroline Hoffman, died in Peoria. Sam was 68 years old when his first wife died. He then married 45-year-old Esther Zimmerman in Peoria.

Sam Stoller died in 1962 at the age of 95. He was buried in Peoria's cemetery by his first wife. His second wife, Esther Zimmerman, died in 1967, and she was buried with her sister in Fairbury's Graceland Cemetery.

During its 15-year history, the Fairbury Carriage Company struggled with the dramatic shift from horses to automobiles. The firm tried to adapt by selling cars. Many other Fairbury firms sprang up in that era that focused on selling automobiles. The Fairbury Carriage Company was one of many firms adversely affected by the radical shift from horses to cars.

(Dale Maley's weekly history article is sponsored by Charlene Aaron & Antiques & Uniques of Fairbury)