Horse-Drawn Carriage Museum

Horse-Drawn Carriage Museum in Colombourg

Mr. Claude Morin, a resident of Colombourg, collected thirty of these horse-drawn vehicles in his barn in his concern to keep this aspect of the region's development from being forgotten.

It was in October 1911 that the first train chugged into Amos, thereby setting the stage for the accelerated development of various means of transportation in the Abitibi region.

Although dogsledding, snowshoeing and canoeing remained popular and efficient means of getting from here to there, access and concession roads were also being opened up.

Along came horse-drawn carriages, carts and sleds which the settlers were able to bring with them in the freight cars, taking advantage of the preferential rates offered for the transport of used vehicles. It was also possible to order several models of industrially manufactured horse-drawn carriages by catalogue.

Soon, every village had its own blacksmith-wheelwright who was able to repair, reinforce and fix up carriages, wheels and harnesses.

After Mr. Morin, the founder of the museum passed away, the Town of Macamic decided to carry on his work by purchasing and enhancing the collection.

A carriage from the collection. Source of the photograph : Town of Macamic Web Site