Carriage House History

The Reitz Carriage House was remodeled in the early 1900s. The front portion of the Carriage House held the numerous carriages owned by the family. The rear portion was the stable, where seven horses had stalls. The stalls contained a puncheon floor (cedar wood), which was comfortable for the horses and easy to clean. One of the double stalls still shows the restored puncheon floor. Francis Joseph owned two automobiles, and, when the family no longer used the carriages and horses, the automobiles were stored in the carriage room and the family referred to it as the garage.

Feed for the horses was stored on the second level, and a recessed area was made on the ceiling of the stable room for the feed to drop down into the stable. The male servants, the coachman, and the stable boy also lived on the second floor. They shared a bathtub in a room so small they could only enter the tub from the back.

The second level is now used as an Education Center and also contains the staff offices.