Every day that I walk to fetch my paper there is a tree that stands out from the rest.
Dead wood
I have to say it reminds me of the tree in our prompt this week.
My tree stands at the side of the road from Yarm which in 1803 became a part of the turnpike road from Yarm to Thirsk. This brought trade to the Crown Inn at Kirklevington, but not without some risk.
An accident at Pond Corner (Artist's impression)
By 1900 the Crown Inn had become the Crown Hotel and this is what it looked like then.
Crown Hotel, Kirklevington
Today it is my local and looks like this (taken from a similar angle.)
Crown Hotel (2014)
Of course the stage coaches gave way to the iron horse and today only riding school horses pass the Crown.
Not long before that 1900 photo of the Crown was taken another famous stage took its last trip and a lot of folks where there.
The last Deadwood Coach - December 28, 1890 (John C H Grabill - Library of Congress)
The Deadwood Stage had mountainous country to contend with as show by this picture from a glass negative from the 1880s.
The Deadwood Stage in a mountainous area (probably the Black Hills of South Dakota) - By Charles C Pierce
A replica of the coach made its appearance at Fort Laramie celebrations in 1937 (the year I was born)
Replica displayed at Fort Laramie (1937)
However it was the 1950s before I heard of the Deadwood Stage. I just wonder what Calamity would have said if she had the seen all those fellas at the site of the Stage's last journey.
I'll let her have the last word,
For others' views on coaches or what has inspired them visit the links at Sepia-Saturday-249.
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