Horses In

Seattle
1850s-1920s
Early Seattle
Animal transportation-distinguish from
savagery
Connect farm + town
Only domestic for 6,000 years, riding 4000
First Horse in Seattle- 1853 Mercers Tib,
Charley
Equine Labor-Early 1900s
Cows banned, Horse urban role grew-sign
of modernity in city
Vast majority of horse owners-businesses
Reproduce rurally, geldings in city
Depicted in pictures, logos-show wealth
Wealthy Seattlites
Only the Rich Used Carriages
for Transportation
Horse Brutality
Economically more viable to treat horses
well, strong emotional bond
Beatings to horses visible to public
1866-Society for Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (American Branch)
Anna Sewells Black Beauty 1877
1901 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act
Horse Brutality in Seattle
1893-cockfighting, baiting banned
1897 Law prohibiting cruelty
1902-humane officers instated to enforce
laws
Seattle Humane Society
1907-12-women deputized, given stars to
enforce laws-confront men on streets
Ellen Ericksons dying words to her
daughter: I want you to sell our home
and use part of the money in fighting for
an 8-hour law for horses P. 120
Auto enthusiasts used cruelty as a reason
to switch
Health Concerns
Manure and urine on streets
Reformers saw this as reason to switch to cars
Horse carcasses-foul, disease
Manure and bodies valuable-glue, fertilizer
Sanitation became an increasing concern for
modernity, prevent disease
Laws on stables, shaped where horses lived-
no downtown stables
Runaway Horses
Horse exercise their own will, take fright +
run at unexpected noise
Construction, commotion, esp. cars
backfiring can scare horses
Shaped legalities-guardrails on bridges
Cars advertised as safer, more reliable,
but growing # made streets less safe
Paving vs. Horse
Dirt,
mud, planking=soft-good for horse
shoes if well-maintained
Can be problematic when planks break,
nails loosen
Gold Rush, inc. cars-need for paved
streets
Pavements inc harm to feet, risk of
slipping
Paving Vs. Horse Cont.
Horse feet need soft roadway, wagons
need hard roadway to reduce friction
Horses only last 4-5 years on pavement
Pavements reduced economic viability of
horses-cars favorable-easier to drive
up/down hills-great speed, stamina-didnt
need food
The Decline of Horses
Horses had wealthy advocated-no
lawmaker banned them-only imposed
restrictions
Difficult to merge horses and cars
together on same road
Seattle Chief of Police 1909: The Horse is
Doomed P. 133
Switch to cars for efficiency, prestige-esp.
businesses
Results of Decline
100s of intimate working relationships
came to an end-some abusive, some
loving
Horses still exist in Seattle today-two urban
farms, police dept. has some, carriages
for pleasure rides
Working animals left city-increasing the
gap between livestock and pets
Source
Brown, Frederick L. The City is More than
Human: an Animal History of Seattle.
Seattle: U of Washington Press, 2016. 103-
36. Print.
Questions?