Stagecoach travel was not for the faint of heart

For The Madera Tribune

Stagecoaches like the one shown here in front of the hotel at Hildreth, not far from Coarsegold, carried passengers from the mountain towns of Madera County to the Valley. Most of the trips were safely conducted, but occasionally disaster struck, like that time in 1901.

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It seems so far in the distant past, and yet it hasn’t really been all that long since the only method of transportation from Madera to the foothills and back was in buggies and stagecoaches or on horseback. Horse drawn vehicles strained at their harnesses in Madera County well into the 20th century, and today it all seems a bit romantic. 

Some folks still long for those “good old days” of simple transportation, and maybe for good reason, but when perusing the newspapers of the time, one has to wonder.

Take, for instance, that issue of the Madera Mercury dated Dec. 7, 1901. The headlines read: “Over a Cliff — Stage Load of Passengers Upset Near Coarse Gold — One Man Reported Killed — Three Badly Injured in an Accident Last Night.”