By Danny Crownover
Gadsden had its parking problems back in the horse and buggy days, but they were not as acute and as difficult as those now confronting the city authorities.
The chief complaint was about hitching horses to shade trees downtown and especially in front of stores on Broad Street.
One of the loudest complaints was in the late 1890s when shoppers and others persisted in using the trees around the First Methodist Church as hitching posts.
Men and women would drive their buggies to the Fifth Street front and Chestnut Street side of the Church and keep them there for hours at the time, much to the annoyance of worshippers and to those forced to walk by them.
Frequently the horses would get up on the sidewalks, causing pedestrians to take to the streets.
There were many trees on the Chestnut Street side and a few on the Fifth Street
side. A big one stood in the middle of Fifth Street, directly opposite the front entrance of the church and it did not come down until it became a dangerous obstacle to traffic and the automobile had appeared on the scene.
Saddle horses hitched on Broad Street had the habit of mounting the sidewalks
and frequently stood across them with their heels close to show windows.
Contact The Vagabond at dkcrown@bellsouth.net
