Besides walking, the only mode of transportation available to Lexington County residents in the antebellum period was the horse. The railroad didn’t come to the county until after the Civil War.

Horse –drawn wagons and carriages could be used to carry people and items. These vehicles would have had wooden wheels with a metal band called a tire around the wheel. To keep the wheels from rotting, many large farms and plantations would have had a structure to house the wagons and carriages.

The carriage house on the grounds of the museum was originally owned by the Monts family and features a small room for housing horse tack and other supplies.

JR Fennell is Lexington County Museum director.