Before fire engines and snow plows, there were horses. So many, in fact that NYC's biggest sanitation challenge was once manure piled in the streets! Motorized equipment began replacing equine power around 1913, and you can read about how Charles Samson worked to give the alruistic steeds somewhere to call home as they were phased out. Here's a look at some of our great city's working horse heroes in their heyday:
FDNY Horses circa 1910-1915
Engine Company 69 (undated)
Firefighting in 1922
Cleaning the Streets (undated)
Snow Removal Near Union Square in 1908
Manure Piled in the Streets, Corner of Bedford + Morton in 1893
