Mendsen, John Frederick

John Frederick Mendsen, a Danish-born coach builder, was the owner of Chicago’s foremost builder of horse-drawn vehicles, e.g., streetcars, stages, omnibuses, and wagons. He supplied all of the rolling stock to those lines operated by Parmelee and Frink & Walker.

The company provided carriages for many early notable citizens including Presidential candidate Stephen A. Douglas. Mensden also supplied the catafalque upon which Abraham Lincoln's coffin rested during the Chicago leg of his funeral procession.