At the onset of the 20th century, Terre Haute was enjoying an economic boom even though much of the nation still was recovering from the Financial Panic of 1893.

Terre Haute Carriage & Buggy Co., 101-111 Wabash Ave., was among the several local enterprises propelling the prosperity.

Though operating through a receiver, Terre Haute Carriage & Buggy Co. was the exclusive manufacturer of screen mail wagons for the U.S. Postal Service for several years.

Once a division of Horatio Keyes' "spoke and wheel factory," which evolved into the American Wheel Co. and, then, Standard Wheel Co., Terre Haute Carriage & Buggy Co. flourished under the guidance of attorney Alvin M. Higgins.

Named trustee in 1896, Higgins landed several government contracts, including the commitment to fabricate the utilitarian screen mail wagons.

Screen mail wagons were caged horse-drawn carriages, similar in style to those which began transporting mail between post offices, railroad stations, branch offices and steamboat landings in the 1870s.

The early mail wagons, called "regulation wagons," boasted intricate woodwork and painted fabric panels. Manufactured by leading stagecoach builders such as Abbott, Downing & Co. of Concord, N.H., they were expensive to make and expensive to maintain.

The caged or screen mail wagons were introduced in Sherman, Texas, in 1886. Though not elegant, they were practical. By 1890, mail wagon service of one kind or another was established in 30 major American cities.

In his 1895 annual report, Postmaster General Wilson S. Bissell predicted that the use of fancy regulation mail wagons would not expand, asserting that the less expensive screen wagons were more practical.

By the end of the year, at least 100 urban cities were using screen mail wagons and standard specifications were adopted.

Screen mail wagons were made in three sizes, the largest capable of hauling 2,500 pounds. Specifications required the running gear to be painted red, the main body to be steel blue, and the belt, window panels and roof to be white.

In 1897, after open bidding, Terre Haute Carriage & Buggy Co. secured the exclusive contract to build the screen wagons according to specifications. The city of Chicago acquired 65 during the first year.

Apparently the product was satisfactory. In 1899, the post office department began ordering two-seated traveling postal vans for rural delivery and mail carts for use in urban centers from the Terre Haute firm.

The next year, the company received a large order for army ambulances from the U.S. War Department for use in the Philippines and China. Each ambulance was fitted with side seats, stretchers, cots and field paraphernalia.

The New York National Guard also submitted a sizable ambulance order.

Trustee Higgins sold the Terre Haute Carriage & Buggy Co. in 1908. By that time, the post office was moving gradually into motorized vehicles.

However, in certain areas of the country, screen mail wagons remained in regular use for four decades. Philadelphia used them until January 1955.

Despite their longevity, very few survive. Museum curators and historians have had a difficult time finding either regulation or screen mail wagons for display.

The fancy regulation wagons were designed exclusively for use by the post office department and were scrapped when contracts terminated. Screen mail wagons, on the other hand, often were converted into freight or trade wagons and used until they were wrecked or fell apart.

Anyone owning a screen mail wagon manufactured by the Terre Haute Carriage & Buggy Co. possesses a valuable relic.

Terre Haute Carriage & Buggy Co. was not the only carriage manufacturer in Terre Haute. Over the years, there were many catering to the commercial trade.

Perhaps the local firm with the widest national reputation was Fouts & Hunter, manufacturers of the celebrated Mikado Wagon and "Cozy Cabs." The company stayed in business at 121 S. Third St. until 1915.

Other Terre Haute carriage manufacturers of note include Samuel Archer; John D. and Frederick L. Meyers; George M. Glick and the Glick Brothers; James M. Random; George W. Scott, Robert L. Scott and James W. Scott, as "Scott & Brothers"; (Robert P.) Scott and (John K.) Graff; Joseph Weidel; A.E. Herman: James F. McCandless & Co.; E.M. Watson; Barbour Brothers; N. Smith & Son and its successor, Charles C. Smith; Fred P. Giffel; Edward P. Gilkison & Son; Fred G. Hausman; Edward and Clarence Hilderbrand and the Hilderbrand Buggy Co.; Albert W. Meyer; (Edward D.) O'Brien & (Martin E.) O'Connell; and (Charles H.) Jackson & (Fred) Muehlenharz.