Pictured here is a Fringe Top Surrey, popular with families of the 19th century.
Although the surrey borrowed its name from a cart used in the County of Surrey, England, it was an American carriage built for American families. The surrey was a popular and affordable carriage for families with a modest income. It probably helped more to unite the scattered communities and families into a great nation of neighbors and friends than any other carriage or wagon. The buggy had room for only two people, but a whole family could ride in a surrey. Traveling to church on Sunday morning, to the “program” at the schoolhouse on Friday night, or to the picnic down at the park, the surrey was a primary means of transportation for the American family in the late 19th century. The Northwest Carriage Museum proudly displays a Fringe Top Surrey made in Illinois
by the Belie Carriage Co. If you are familiar with the Rogers and Hammerstein musical “Oklahoma” you are sure to think of the song “Surrey with the Fringe on Top” sung by Curly! Stop in and start humming!
