We began a discussion about the history of Cadillac hearses, funeral coaches and funeral cars on Monday. We are continuing that discussion today with some more facts that you may find interesting about these unmistakable vehicles.
• Hearses became more popular as internal combustion engines became less expensive. Funeral directors realized they could conduct more funerals each day if they had motorized hearses to carry the bodies away. By the 1920s, motorized hearses were the most common form of transporting bodies to their burial places.
• The Crane and Breed Company of Cincinnati was the first company to manufacture hearses. Their creations had about 30 horsepower and they could go up to 30 miles per hour.
• The sleeker and longer style of hearses that became known as the landau-style hearse was manufactured by the Sayers and Scovill Company in the 1930s.
• As you may already know, hearses were also used as ambulances throughout much of the middle part of the 20th century. These were known as “combination coaches.” They stopped doing double service when regulations for ambulances became stricter around the 1970s.
Come back on Friday and learn some facts about how hearses are made!
