Herdic Phaeton Company
Encyclopedia
The Herdic Phaeton Company was a late 19th Century horse drawn stagecoach company in Washington, D.C.
It started operations in December 1879, taking over for a horse drawn chariot company that had operated unsuccessfully for three years. The company took its name from the chariot's designer Peter H. Herdic of Wilmington, Delaware
. They ran plushy upholstered carriages from 22nd and G Streets NW along G Street and Pennsylvania Avenue to the Navy Yard competing directly with the Washington and Georgetown
streetcars. The company was more successful than the chariot company and continued to expand until 1887.
Lines were added from East Capitol and 11th Street to 15th and T NW in 1883. Other lines were added in downtown in 1886 along I Street, K Street and 13th Streets NW.
The electric streetcar, however, was too much for the company to compete with and when its principal stockholder died in 1896 it ceased operations. Photo of a Herdic Omnibus and gingerbread waiting station at Lafayette Square
in 1891.
Two of the company's waiting stations, nicknamed "herdics", still exist on the Capitol grounds near the East Front.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
It started operations in December 1879, taking over for a horse drawn chariot company that had operated unsuccessfully for three years. The company took its name from the chariot's designer Peter H. Herdic of Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
. They ran plushy upholstered carriages from 22nd and G Streets NW along G Street and Pennsylvania Avenue to the Navy Yard competing directly with the Washington and Georgetown
Washington and Georgetown Railroad
The Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company was the first streetcar company to operate in Washington, D.C. It was incorporated and started operations in 1862, running from Georgetown to the Navy Yard. Two additional lines ran on 7th Street NW/SW and 14th Street NW. In 1890 it switched from...
streetcars. The company was more successful than the chariot company and continued to expand until 1887.
Lines were added from East Capitol and 11th Street to 15th and T NW in 1883. Other lines were added in downtown in 1886 along I Street, K Street and 13th Streets NW.
The electric streetcar, however, was too much for the company to compete with and when its principal stockholder died in 1896 it ceased operations. Photo of a Herdic Omnibus and gingerbread waiting station at Lafayette Square
Lafayette Square
Lafayette Square may refer to a place in the United States:*Lafayette Square, Los Angeles, California, a neighborhood in the mid-city section of L.A.*Lafayette Square, New Orleans, Louisiana, in the Central Business District*Lafayette Square, St...
in 1891.
Two of the company's waiting stations, nicknamed "herdics", still exist on the Capitol grounds near the East Front.