Carriage Step on Prairie Street

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker on Prairie Street tells it, and I'll pass it along just as it stands. Now, most things that survive the long roll from one era to the next do it quietly, without making a fuss. This old block of stone on Prairie Street in Columbus is exactly that kind of survivor.

It's a carriage step, and before you drive past it thinking it's just some chunk of concrete someone forgot to haul off, let me tell you what it meant to have one. A carriage step was a block of stone or concrete set right at the street, placed there as a courtesy to guests steppin out of carriages. It was also, and don't miss this part, a symbol.

A symbol of prominent families in the community. You had one of these out front, people knew something about you. These steps belonged to a world of livery stables and blacksmith shops, of hitching posts and watering troughs lining the streets.

A whole world built around the horse, and this little block of stone was the polished edge of it. Now the Prairie Street home where this step sits changed hands in 1879, when the Robert Robson family sold the property to R.S. Stephens, a railroad purchasing agent, and his wife, Bettie Thatcher.

The step was already there. And here is the part that ought to stop you cold. That step has never moved.

It is still sitting in its original location. And it is, as far as anyone knows, the only carriage step left in Columbus. The only one.

Out of everything that era left behind, one block of stone held its ground. Paired with the watering trough over at the Colorado County Courthouse, this carriage step is what remains when a whole way of life has otherwise ridden off into the distance. Two relics, still present, still marking time.

That's a longer run than most things manage.

What the marker says

CARRIAGE STEP ON PRAIRIE STREET A CARRIAGE STEP IS A BLOCK OF STONE OR CONCRETE PLACED AT THE STREET AS A COURTESY TO GUESTS STEPPING OUT OF CARRIAGES AND WAS A SYMBOL OF PROMINENT FAMILIES IN THE COMMUNITY. THESE STEPS ARE REMNANTS OF A TIME WHEN LIVERY STABLES, BLACKSMITH SHOPS, HITCHING POSTS AND WATERING TROUGHS LINED THE STREETS. IN 1879, THE ROBERT ROBSON FAMILY SOLD THE PRAIRIE STREET HOME TO R.S. STEPHENS, A RAILROAD PURCHASING AGENT, AND HIS WIFE, BETTIE THATCHER. THE CARRIAGE STEP AT THIS HOUSE IS IN THE ORIGINAL LOCATION AND IS THE ONLY KNOWN CARRIAGE STEP IN COLUMBUS. ALONG WITH THE WATERING TROUGH AT THE COLORADO COUNTY COURTHOUSE, THIS CARRIAGE STEP IS A SURVIVING RELIC OF AN EARLIER ERA. (2012)