Goosman Transfer Company

Men and women in a Goosman Transfer Co. carriage in 1901.

In the late 1800’s, George and Peter Goosman operated a hack line and a livery service on Wayne Street. The hack service was prepared to take passengers to any part of Sandusky for the fee of twenty five cents. The hacks were stationed at Sandusky’s railway depots when the trains arrived in town, to be ready to transport travelers to their destination. The Goosman brothers also ran a livery service and sold feed at their business. 

In 1886 the Sandusky City Directory listed Nicholas and Peter as the operators of the livery stable and omnibus line. According to the July 26, 1901 Sandusky Daily Star, N.G. and Peter Goosman had operated the Goosman Transfer Company for twenty-five years, and the business offered hack service, baggage transfer, livery service, and storage. The Star article concluded with, “They have made this business what it is, and their able, energetic spirit has been instilled into their assistants to such effect that the whole enterprise is as smooth-running and as perfectly conducted as any business can be.” Up to 70 horses could be boarded at Goosman Brothers. 

An article in the Julius Kahn-Gus Hill Theatrical Guide and Moving Picture Directory, from 1903, stated that the Goosman Transfer Co. in Sandusky had special rates for theatrical companies. By 1903, the Goosman brothers had purchased electrical grooming tools for more efficient grooming of the horses in the livery. And by 1919, the son of Nicholas Goosman, Louis E. Goosman, had taken over the business, now known as the Goosman Cartage and Storage Company. You can see the sign for the L.E. Goosman Cartage and Transfer Company in in the picture below. In the 1930 Sandusky City Directory, Louis E. Goosman listed his services as freight transfer and moving, with pianos and machinery a specialty. At that time the offices and warehouse were at 1208-1210 Maple Avenue.

Louis E. Goosman retired in 1953 as the owner of the Goosman Cartage and Storage Company after a half century in the business. At the time of his death in 1968, he was believed to have been the last living livery stable operator in the city of Sandusky.

(Edited for corrections, September 10, 2018.)