BACK IN THE DAY

The story of the 'dead horse man'

By KELLY SULLIVAN
Posted 4/19/20

Waldo Earl Barnes was known as "e;the dead horse man."e; The son of a Providence butcher and tallow manufacturer, he followed in his father's footsteps and gained few friends in doing so. During the 1870s, Waldo ran his business from

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BACK IN THE DAY

The story of the 'dead horse man'

Posted

Waldo Earl Barnes was known as “the dead horse man.” The son of a Providence butcher and tallow manufacturer, he followed in his father’s footsteps and gained few friends in doing so.

During the 1870s, Waldo ran his business from Field’s Point Farm in Providence. Then, in March of 1884, he applied for a license which would allow him to “carry on the business of bone-boiling and the manufacture of tallows and chemical fertilizers” upon 60 acres of land in the Old Warwick Woods, behind Great Pond. The license was granted.

Soon, decaying animals were piling up on the Warwick property, each waiting its turn to be boiled. Those who passed by the area, and especially those who resided close by, were repulsed by the dead horses and other corpses that lay in plain sight for up to a month at a time. Flesh, blood, entrails and bones worked into a stench that hung in the air night and day. The boiling only intensified the odor, turning the stomachs of neighbors.

After receiving complaints, the health officer visited the grounds to find piles of dead animals in various stages of decomposition. The smell, he said, had become noticeable as soon as he was within a quarter of a mile from Waldo’s place. Standing there on the grounds, the odor overwhelmed him, and he became violently sick.

Another town authority made his own visit to the filthy business and found himself purging while there as well.

Waldo was finally indicted for maintaining a public nuisance and the 54-year-old was found guilty in 1895. He appealed the decision and was granted a new trial in 1898.

Later that year, and until at least 1908, Waldo ran his bone boiling business from a different location – Allens Avenue in Providence. He placed an advertisement in a Rhode Island directory stating his address for those who wanted “dead animals removed.”

It isn’t known how Waldo’s new neighbors reacted to the business, but according to a local book called “Book Notes,” published in 1908, the family was sort of known for being on the eccentric side. Allegedly, the wife of Waldo Barnes was the first woman to ever ride in the police vehicle used to haul lawbreakers to the jail. It was said that she was often drunk, although there is no way of knowing whether they were referring to Dead Horse Man’s wife or the wife of his father, Waldo Sr.

Waldo “the dead horse man” became deceased himself during the winter of 1925.

Kelly Sullivan is a Rhode Island columnist, lecturer and author.

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