Company History
From Carriage Shop
to National Legacy
The Riddle Coach and Hearse Company of Ravenna, Ohio has a long history
dating back to 1831 when it began as the Clark Carriage
Company, owned by N.D. Clark. The Clark Carriage Company was bought in
1861 by brothers-in-law, Charles Merts and Henry W. Riddle
— our great-grandfather. He was 22 years old. The new name became the
Merts and Riddle Coach and Hearse Company.
Charles, a fine tool maker and woodworker, supervised the factory while Henry went on the road selling. He would take a string of vehicles and not return until they were sold. The men upgraded the coaches to a high level and introduced the hearses. Artisans from around the world were brought in to do fine wood carving and trimming. All of the construction was done by hand in the Ravenna factory.
In 1891, Merts sold his share of the business to Riddle and again the name changed, this time to Riddle Coach and Hearse. When the company began producing motorized vehicles, the name again changed to Riddle Manufacturing Company.
The Riddle hearses became known for their fine quality. Presidents McKinley and Harding were carried to their graves in Riddle hearses. In 1998 Roy Rogers' body was taken to the cemetery in a restored Riddle Hearse.
Motorized hearses, including ambulances, were made at the factory beginning about 1911. In the mid-1920s the factory needed to change from proudly hand-crafted production to assembly-line techniques if it was to keep up with the competition. After some family in-fighting, such a major change was deemed too costly and in 1926 the factory closed.
For more in-depth histories of the factory we have two excellent articles: The Riddle of Ravenna and Riddle Coach and Hearse Co. Links to more articles can be found below.
We have a picture of motorized hearses in front of the coach and hearse factory and also a picture of a funeral procession of coaches and hearses. The company had at least some international exposure: they produced a Spanish language poster to be distributed in Mexico and Central America; we have the English version of that poster here.
