Vigo County Historical Society

The hitching post was a necessary part of life in the horse-and-buggy days. The main street of a town often resembled an illustration in the iron foundry catalogs of J.W. Fiske or Mott Ironworks, who made most of the posts used throughout the country.

The earliest hitching device, which dates from the mid-19th century, was a turned wooden post with a hitching ring. These had to be painted frequently and rotted after a few years of exposure.

With the opening of the foundries and the Industrial revolution came the wrought iron post, a man-made product that quickly undersold the handiwork of the blacksmith. These posts came in a variety of designs, invariably topped with a horse head and a ring for the reins.

Around 1870 came the introduction of the human figure as a hitching post. Jockeys, stable boys and Laverne were offered to the carriage trade.

Hitching posts were so popular during this period that iron foundry catalogs were filled with new designs every season. There was a time when the elaborateness of the hitching post in front of the house or business was a status symbol in the community.

While their use has long passed, some period homes retain hitching posts for authenticity and decoration. A few remain in Terre Haute, particularly in the Farrington Grove neighborhood.

The post pictured can be seen on the lower floor of the museum. The head and simple cast iron post are painted in pale green. It stands as another example of a formerly useful device that has become a memory.