Kensington searches for history on horse-drawn hearses

The Town of Kensington is looking for information about two horse-drawn hearses that have been tucked away in its maintenance garage for about 10 years.

The town is loaning them to the Haunted Mansion, and they'd like to include a plaque with some history about the hearses.

1800s or early 1900s

One hearse is on wheels and another on a sleigh. Kensington Mayor Rowan Caseley said they're probably from the 1800s or early 1900s, and he suspects they were donated to the town by a local funeral home.

It's definitely going to be an oddity, a morbid curiosity.— John Davison

"Someone called and said they remembered something like that from around the 1930s, but nothing confirmed yet," he said.

"We've had people telling us they used to be drawn by black horses."

Ready by Halloween

Haunted Mansion owner John Davison hopes to have a display with the hearses ready by Halloween. They need some fixing up, he said, and they plan to build a black fibreglass horse as part of the display.

"It's definitely going to be an oddity, a morbid curiosity," he said.

Caseley imagines some his ancestors could have been taken to their final resting place by the hearses.

Seeking information

"They're probably lying at rest out at the Peoples Cemetery on the Irishtown Road, which would have just been a short little drive out the road with a horse and sleigh or horse and wagon," he said.

Anyone who may be able to shed light on the hearses can call or email the town.

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