The coffee shops and cafes in Santa Ynez offer all the
modern blends of coffee drinks and foods, but you might not guess it by
looking at the facades of buildings from this historic stage stop.
Nowhere is the history of the Santa Ynez valley more apparent than in this
town, home to one of the nation's finest carriage museum.
The Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum's Parks-Janeway
Carriage House features an outstanding collection of more than 35 horse-drawn
vehicles. Included are surreys, stagecoaches, carts and backboard wagons,
as well as a hitch wagon, runabout, hearse, hunt wagon which transported
the hunting dogs and military supply wagon, to name a few. Also featured
are silver-mounted saddles, harnesses and other equestrian gear.
Visitors to the Central Coast who have
scoured the more popular sights...wineries of the Santa Ynez valley, Solvang and
the Cachuma Casino nearby, will find Santa Ynez is a gem that captures the
flavor of the region as it might have been at the turn of the 20th century. When
visiting, you'll find the closest home base to the Old West town is Solvang, a
five minute drive and less than four miles away.
Hotels in Solvang offer a large variety of options but several
affordable favorites include
Royal Scandinavian Inn and
Holiday Inn Express.
A descendant of the famed Davey Crockett, Curator John Crockett,
is known in the valley and at the museum. His father, Paul Crockett, drove a 6-person carriage
for the Danish Inn in Solvang during the 1970's so John brings a lifelong
knowledge and passion to the Carriage House where he has restored and tended
to an extensive collection for nearly 15 years.
One of John Crockett's favorites museum
collection pieces is a Western Style Stage Coach that
was operated by the Yellowstone Stage Lines. It was probably used to bring
tourists to the Park, at which time they transferred to open vehicles for
better viewing. It could carry 11 passengers, plus driver and shotgun
guard, using teams of four to six horses, depending on road conditions
and grade. Pictured to the right of Crockett is a 1926 Model T Ford School
Bus.
A brief history: Before automobiles, aircraft and
trains, people used horses to get around. Carriages were hitched to horses
to transport people and cargo from place to place. Certain types
of carriages were designed for specific tasks and generally fell into three
categories: wagons which are large, buggies which are smaller and small
carts, usually with only two wheels and often pulled by only one horse
or pony. Getting to school could involve children taking a horse-drawn
cart or instead of a mother driving her kids around in the Chevy Suburban,
a governess might take children around in a tub cart, which she sat in
sideways, to keep an eye on the kids.
All carriages were driven from the right hand side and
usually were comprised of a riding area with seats, big steps to climb
into the vehicle, a lantern and a rear break. Some of the lightweight carts
were made of wicker but the larger stage coaches were made of woods such
as maple or oak.
Founded in 1961 by a group of residents who thought it
important to preserve local history, one of the finest carriage collections
in the United States provides a look into 19th century life for those of
us who never knew of a time without cars. Dedicated to the late Tom Parks
and Fred Bixby by Betty Parks and Elizabeth Bixby Janeway, the Parks-Janeway
Carriage House is operated as an integral part of the Santa Ynez Valley
Historical Society Museum. Combining the collections of John J. Mitchell,
Los Adobes de los Rancheros and Janeway-Bixby is located on the corner of Sagunto and Faraday Streets
in Santa Ynez, off Highway 101 on 246, just east of Solvang. Admission
is a few dollars. Parks-Janeway Carriage House, 3596 Sagunto Street,
SantaYnez, CA 93460 805-688-7889
