The Lovell Stage started long before the Civil War. The route ran daily between Fryeburg and South Paris, Maine, 32 miles away, to pick up passengers debarking from the Grand Trunk Railroad.
It was a dangerous job from the start, as driver John Bicknell of South Paris learned early in October of 1866. He was driving down a steep hill in Waterford with 17 passengers and quite a bit of baggage in and on the Abbott & Downing tallyho coach when his foot slipped off the brake he was standing on and he tumbled forward, falling between the horses and the coach. The rear pair of horses injured him badly, kicking him as they shied, and two wheels ran over his arm, crushing it. One of the outside passengers crawled down into the driver’s seat, retrieved the loose reins and brought the coach to a halt.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
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Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.