When thinking about an old-fashioned stagecoach, people around here likely imagine a dusty town out west with cowboys, outlaws, and six-shooters. They probably don’t think of a stagecoach in their hometown, but they should. Stagecoaches were once a common form of transportation between towns in the Oxford Hills and nearby areas, especially those without direct access to the railroad.

This photograph from about 1900 shows a coach in front of the Elm House, a hotel on Main Street in Norway that was torn down in 1915. The Fare Share Co-op occupies the location today. This particular stagecoach traveled between Lovell and the train station in Norway, with scheduled stops in Waterford, and possibly Sweden or Stoneham.

A one-way trip took four hours. This is the larger of two coaches used on the route and would use teams of four or six horses. It was said to carry as many as 24 passengers, with many riding on top. Four hours is a long time to ride on the roof of a stagecoach, even in nice weather.