What Happened to Ostrich Carriages?

There was a time in the United States when you could hop into a carriage pulled by ostriches—yes, ostriches! In the late 19th century, entrepreneurs in California and Florida tried to make these speedy birds a tourist attraction, offering everything from carriage rides to ostrich races and extravagant feathered fashion. But why did this quirky tradition disappear? In this video, we dive into the rise and fall of ostrich taxis and how they went from a strange fad to a nearly forgotten piece of American history.

IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.

» CONTACT

» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Brent Mackesey
Editor - Ibrahim Yansaneh⁩
Host - Ryan Socash
Music/Sound Design: Sebastián Ripoll

» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[faenethlorhalien]

Ostrich carriage is CLEARLY the superior form of transport, exclusive to the most distinguished of passengers. That they have been lost as a means of transportation is a tragedy on an unfathomable level.

[jerrysinclair]

I have lived in Jacksonville, FL for 72 years and was not aware of us having an Ostriches farm here. I will have to look that up and see if there are any clippings or pictures. Thanks for the interesting feature on the Ostrich.

[natchaos]

This is my favourite episode now!
Thank you Ryan for bringing a smile to my face! 😊

[johnallen]

As a child in the 1950"s I remember My parents buying Ostrich eggs in the supermarket. That was in New Jersey at the Food Fair Supermarket.

[Studebaker]

The Old Plank Road - A Wooden Highway might be a good topic to cover.

[coffeetimedaily]

I think the Ostrich has run its course. 😂

[presmasterflash]

Years ago there was a trend, in at least the state of Connecticut, of jogging with llamas. Around 1999 when I got my license, I was preparing to head back to Cape Cod from Florida and j watched an expose on the phenomenon with my mother. I looked at her and said “I’m going to stop there on my way up!” Possibly the Travel Channel. Regardless, I made a point to stop off in my travels a few days later and yep! As soon as I got off the highway I saw people jogging with llamas! I don’t remember the name of the town but I’m sure you could find the information about it. It was a little surreal. I got breakfast somewhere and just watched the locals in their morning routine, walking and jogging with llamas.

[roboticsmarts]

I came here for Ostrich Taxi and learned about America's burgeoning Ostrich Farms. What a strange world we live in.

[bobbysenterprises]

Find weird animal.
Can we ride it?
Can we eat it?
Can it pull us?
How about shoes and a handbag?

[CrisisXofficial]

Great video. Shaved head looks great, too. An alternative form of transport such as this is a good idea, but not practical in concept. Horses can be used for more than just pleasure and meat. They are working animals.

[ashleysanford]

Never heard of it
interesting though

[NordicDan]

My new buggy has a 70 ostrichpower motor!

[jetsons]

Where's PETA when you need
Another great watch of History from "It's History"

[jetsons]

At 2:19 isn't that the Chicago cattle yards ???
I wonder if Ostrich is like Squirrel, do they both taste like chicken.

[barbiquearea]

I wonder how fast a carriage pulled by two or more ostriches could be?

[mattoni]

The girl riding a turtle... I have now seen everything

[BrooklynCortezNYCsportsfan]

Instead of horseback riding it would been ostrichback riding. 😂 no thanks. But this was very Interesting. Would be fun to ride on the back of a ostrich since they do go pretty fast. Don't think I would attempt it though. Lol

[deanmc]

South African here, they're native in Africa, and quite common to see ostrich farms here not too far on the outskirts of cities.

I rode an Ostrich 24 years ago, as a kid on a school camp. about 23 years ago ( i am now 37)

totally do not recommend!!

[PatchyConvert]

Unfortunately, taxis of this kind would immediately be called fat phobic. This means a Twitter mob would descend upon any work page, making it crash. Sigh, the sad state of humanity in the US of A.

[joepg]

Was at a pizza place back in the late 90s that had ostrich on pizza.