Remington Carriage Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1993 |
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| Location | Cardston, Alberta, Canada |
| Type | horse-drawn transportation |
The Remington Carriage Museum is a super cool place in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. It opened in 1993 and is the biggest museum of its kind in the whole world! Here, you can see over 240 amazing carriages.
This museum has been called "The Best Indoor Attraction in Canada" four times. It's huge, about 64,000 square feet! Inside, you'll find a working stable, where you can even go for carriage rides. There are also video displays, an 80-seat theatre, a gift shop with Victorian-era items, and a restaurant.
Contents
Exploring Horse-Drawn Vehicles
The main part of the museum is set up like different scenes from the past. Each scene tells a story about life in North America in the late 1800s and early 1900s. You'll see all sorts of horse-drawn vehicles, like coaches, carts, and sleighs.
Next to each vehicle, there are signs with information and lots of old photos. This helps you imagine what life was like when these carriages were used every day.
How Carriages Are Restored
At the museum, there's a special workshop called the Carriage Preservation Workshop. Here, you can watch skilled experts at work. They use old techniques like blacksmithing (working with metal), wheelwrighting (making and fixing wheels), woodworking, and painting. It's like watching history come alive as they carefully fix and restore these old carriages.
Meet Donald Remington
Don Remington (1914–1987) was the amazing person who started the Remington Museum. He was a rancher, a builder, and someone who loved to help others.
For 35 years, Don and his wife, Afton, traveled all over North America, Britain, and other parts of the world. They searched for old carriages and then shipped them back home to restore them.
Don Remington was very good at fixing carriages. He even built some himself! He knew a lot about coaches, carriages, and sleighs. Many of the carriages you see in the museum were actually used during his lifetime.
Famous Carriages and Their Riders
The Remington Museum has carriages that have carried some very important people. Imagine kings, queens, princes, princesses, and even presidents riding in these vehicles! Many celebrities have also enjoyed a ride in a Remington carriage.
These special carriages have been part of big events too. They were featured in the world-famous Calgary Stampede and the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. You can often see them at the Calgary Heritage Park Days and Spruce Meadows International Equestrian Horse Shows. Remington carriages have even been in hundreds of parades around the world.
Royalty and Presidents on Board
- Queen Elizabeth II of Canada, along with her husband Prince Philip and son Prince Charles, rode in a Remington landau carriage. This happened when they visited Canada in 1973 and again in 1980.
- The Studebaker Company made a landau carriage for Ulysses S. Grant when he was president of the United States (1869-1877). This very carriage is now at the Remington Museum.
- An original Royal Hansom Cab from 1910, once owned by Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, is also here. Don Remington bought this cab in New York and made sure to keep its original Vanderbilt logo and look. These cabs were like taxis in London, Paris, and New York City between 1870 and 1930, before cars became common.
- The Remington Barouche has carried many important people. These include Prince Philip, Prince Andrew, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and Alberta premiers Ralph Klein and Peter Lougheed.
- Abraham Lincoln owned a barouche that looked just like the one at the museum when he was president.
- When Canadian Prime Minister Diefenbaker visited Western Canada, he rode in a Remington barouche carriage.
- The museum also has a Five Glass Landau Coach, made around 1890 by James Cunningham, Son and Company in Rochester, New York.
- There's also a carriage called the BBreak by Holland & Holland, London, which Don Remington bought in England in the early 1970s.
The Famous Concord Coach
The museum has a famous Concord coach from the Wells Fargo Remington Collection. You can also see an original Buffalo Bill's Stages North Platte Nebraska stagecoach.
Other Special Carriages
The Wells Fargo & Co. Yellowstone Wagon, made around 1886 by Abbot-Downing Company in Concord, New Hampshire, is another highlight. This wagon was used for tours in Yellowstone National Park. When Don Remington restored it, they found the original Wells Fargo & Co. letters on its sides!
Hollywood and the Remington Collection
The Remington Carriage Museum has been part of Hollywood!
- The popular TV show The Simpsons even featured the museum. In an episode called "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore", sisters Patty and Selma show slides of their vacation, including pictures of carriages from the Remington Museum. You can even see Patty and Selma standing next to a statue of Don Remington in the picture!
- Hollywood movies often show covered wagons and stagecoaches as symbols of the Old West. The Remington Carriage Museum has both! You can even climb aboard the stagecoach that Jackie Chan used in Disney's Shanghai Noon and Tom Selleck used in Crossfire Trail.
- The Fay Wray Fountain Memorial is near the museum. Fay Wray was a famous actress known for the 1933 film King Kong. When she visited Cardston in 1967, she rode in a Remington Concord Stagecoach.
Horses at the Museum
The story of transportation in the 1800s wouldn't be complete without the horse! The museum has its own herd of horses, including Clydesdales, Quarter Horses, and Canadians. These horses are a big part of the daily programs.
You can watch elegant equestrian events at the museum. These shows demonstrate how skilled horses are when pulling carriages in harness. Each horse breed is chosen carefully to help with the museum's carriage rides.
- The Clydesdale is a large, strong draft horse. They are often used in teams of two, three, or four to pull big vehicles that can carry up to 18 people. These horses are famously known as the Budweiser Clydesdale horses.
- The American Quarter Horse is known for its speed and ability to run short distances quickly. They are great for pulling wagons, buggies, and sleighs.
- The Canadian Horse came from horses brought to Quebec from France in 1665. They are known for their strength and calm nature, which makes them perfect for carriage work.
Pairs of Quarter Horses and Canadians are used at the museum to pull smaller carriages that can hold up to six people.
The Remington Carriage Museum is part of a group of historic sites and museums in Alberta. These include Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Frank Slide Centre. The museum is open all year, seven days a week. Cardston is also home to the first Mormon LDS temple built outside the United States.
Affiliations
The museum works with the CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.
