Dashaway Stables

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Dashaway Stables, constructed in 1888, was a branch of the Lick Livery and Hack Company, which provided stabling for horses, carriages for rent, and drivers for hire in the city of San Jose. With a reputation as one of the best such stables on the West Coast, it advertised excursions to nearby scenic destinations, with drivers doubling as tour guides. Though the stables were destroyed in 1928, a replica stands in History Park today.

Images

Dashaway Stables (image from History San Jose)

Historic photo of Dashaway Stables (image from the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus Mountain Charlie No. 1850)

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Part of the Lick Livery and Hack Company of San Jose, Dashaway Stables was built in 1888 at 130 South Second Street, and run by Frederick Tennant and William Connell. The stables rented hacks (carriages) and provided the equivalent of a taxi service, with drivers for hire. People could also pay to keep their horses at Dashaway. It quickly earned a reputation for excellence in organization, management, equipment, drivers, and horse teams, and advertised drives through the scenic Santa Clara Valley foothills and mountains.

By 1892, it had changed hands, owned by Lyman M. Hale, a former oil businessman from Pennsylvania. According to the Commercial History of San Jose, California, at this time Dashaway Stables offered vehicles from single buggies to fourteen-passenger wagons for excursions of interest to tourists and pleasure-seekers: Lick Observatory and Mount Hamilton, Palo Alto, Saratoga Springs, and the Almaden Mines. Knowledgeable drivers were emphasized, indicating the drivers served as tour guides on these excursions. Dashaway was also one of the first San Jose businesses to offer a reservation system for patrons, beginning with Lyman Hale taking reservations by mail or telegraph, and later by telephone.

Arthur L. Chambers became owner of Lick Livery and Hack Company in 1898, and Dashaway Stables was relocated--under the new banner of The Lick Garage--to 131 South 3rd Street in 1915. The stables were destroyed in 1928 for unknown reasons, eventually replaced by a parking lot. The replica at History Park was constructed in 1975.

Sources

1. Commercial History of San Jose, California. San Jose: Pacific Press for Metropolitan Publishing Company. 1892. Accessed January 8, 2017. https://books.google.com/books?id=DDREAQAAMAAJ&dq=dashaway+stables&source=gbs_navlinks_s.

2. History San Jose. "Dashaway Stables." Accessed January 8, 2017. http://historysanjose.org/wp/plan-your-visit/history-park/dashaway-stables/.

3. Swackhamer, Barry. "Dahsaway Stables." Historical Marker Database. February 3, 2012. Accessed January 8, 2017. http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?MarkerID=52166.

Additional Information

Commercial History of San Jose, California. Published 1892. Ebook free at Google Books.