FOUR-IN-HAND AND TANDEM CLUB - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The FOUR-IN-HAND AND TANDEM CLUB, in existence 1902-08, brought together a group of wealthy Clevelanders who believed that driving four-in-hands (a 4-horse team driven by 1 person) and tandems (a 2-seated carriage drawn by 2 horses harnessed one before the other) was an outdoor exercise that could bring them "amusement, recreation, health, and profit." On 31 Mar. 1902 the members incorporated the Four-in-Hand Tandem Co., a for-profit corporation with 20 shares of capital stock valued at $50 per share. The club made its debut on Memorial Day 1902, when 7 carriages embarked on a day's drive. To qualify for membership, one needed to own, and to prove an ability to drive "a coach or brake, and four horses, or a . . . tandem cart and two horses, or a unicorn turn-out and three horses." Membership was limited to 20, dues were $15 a year, and there were 3 annual meets: one in May, midsummer, and October. Directors of the club were Wm. L. Rice, DANIEL R. HANNA†, Jacob B. Perkins, Belden Seymour, and L. Dean Holden. After 1 year of operation, the club had a deficit of $314.60, which was assessed proportionally among the members. The club then amended the bylaws to increase annual dues to $50 and to assess a $25 fine to any member who missed a meet. The club was dissolved in Nov. 1908 and stock in the corporation was liquidated for $40.25 a share.

Four-in-Hand & Tandem Club Co. Records, WRHS.

Finding aid for the Four-In-Hand and Tandem Club Company Records. WRHS.

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