This post contains affiliate links. "From Sea to Sea in a Horseless Carriage", Dr. H.N. Sewall K. Crocker Sewall K. Crocker, a 22-year-old former professional bicycle racer from Tacoma, Washington, was working in. Or sometimes I just need to, Read More The Right Word Peter Roget and His ThesaurusContinue, If youve never heard of Snowflake Bentley, then Ive got a treat for you! In Idaho, Jackson acquired Bud, and the bulldog accompanied the pioneering motorists to the East Coast. Between 12th and 14th Streets In the spring of 1903, on a whim and a fifty-dollar bet, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson set off from San Francisco in a 20-horsepower Winton touring car hoping to become the first person to cross the . Jackson had spent Theres also a book which I grabbed on my very next visit to the library. Im laid-back, sometimes scattered, a little curious, love to laugh, and always up for a fun road trip. [10] Their trip expended over 800 US gallons (3,000L) of gasoline. An automobile trip across the continent that will be watched with a great deal of interest will start from this city this morning. Allegedly Jackson made a $50 bet that he could drive from San Francisco to New York in less than 90 days. I have lost 5 days. California to New York. As soon as they left San Francisco though, trouble began tochase them down. and their dog Bud made the first successful transcontinental automobile trip. Crocker suggested that Jackson buy a Winton car. We only made 45 miles in our direct route. There are a few windmill museums in the world and Ive been lucky enough to visit one. Reaching Alturas, California, Jackson and Crocker stopped to wait for the tires. Horatio's Journey. 1903 was a big year for the United States- President Teddy Roosevelt sent a wireless radio message across the Atlantic to the King of England, a cable was laid across the Pacific Ocean, completing the circuit and allowing Roosevelt to send the first telegraph around the world, and the Wright brothers made the worlds first airplane flight. Horatio Nelson Jackson, a physician and automobile pioneer, and Sewall Crocker arrive in New York on July 26, 1903, completing the first continental crossing by car, a journey prompted by a. The trip had to be called off after a one-armed bicyclist made up a 10- day head start from New York and passed the hapless car before it reached Syracuse. Basin & Range is the premier resource for living the Active Outdoor Western Lifestyle. Keep reading The Pony Express is a well-known American mail delivery service of the early 1860s. All day yesterday it was visited by admiring automobilists, and curious passersby peeped in upon it. [6] They were also forced to pay a $4 (equivalent to $121 in 2021[3]) toll by a land-owner in order to cross his property on a "bad, rocky, mountain road" as Jackson described it. Just as soon as I can get decent tires we will make a record run. Youre going to love it here. When the travelers reached Omaha, Nebraska on July 12 they were able to stitch together a few paved roads in between the stretches of older wagon trails. Jackson was seated in a gentleman's club when he overheard a discussion at another table about the impracticability of automobiles. Interested in having your company's ad featured on Basin & Range Magazine? [6] Newspapers at the time gave a variety of stories of how Bud was acquired, including that he was stolen; in a letter to his wife, Nelson said a man sold him the dog for $15[9] (equivalent to $452 in 2021[3]). Subsequently, their mileage took a sharp increase andtheir rate of trail damage sharply decreased. Dr. Jackson is a man of wealth, who is very fond of automobiling. Like Jackson, Ramsey and her three female passengers packed a block and tackle and used it often in the muddy Midwest. At the time there were only 150 miles of paved roads in the entire country, all of them within city limits. Jackson chose a cherry red 1903 Winton Company touring car. [13], Jackson's military awards included the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Honour, and the Croix de Guerre. The further they pushed on through Idaho and Wyoming, the more it seemed that the team would actually make it. Bud, a bulldog, accompanied the drivers, and was featured in many news photos. Many days of the journey, especially in the beginning, were spent parked in a town awaiting replacement parts to arrive via stagecoach or train so they they could continue on. When the Winton needed repairs, they telegraphed the factory for parts and awaited delivery by railroad. When Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson wagered in May 1903 that he could drive from San Francisco to New York in 90 days, there were only 150 miles of paved road in the entire country. Here they prepare to light the acetylene gas headlamps. I would be wrong. Horatio Nelson Jackson (March 25, 1872 January 14, 1955) was an American automobile pioneer. Jackson and Crocker were en route, but could not overtake them. (1) 'Bud,' a stray American bulldog, joined the journey. In 1903, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson single handedly silenced a conversation taking place at the San Francisco University Club. We had no trouble in crossing railroad bridges With practice, bumping over bridge ties is no great task. Here we were advised to changed our course a little and take the left hand road of the R. R. One old fellow said keep to the left road. The press came out at every stop to take their picture and conduct interviews. The Jackson party left Chicago at noon Saturday and arrived in Cleveland at 5:00 p.m. Monday, remarkably good time for notoriously bad roads which had been rendered worse by continued hard rains. Many days of travel are lost as they sit waiting for repair parts to arrive via train or stagecoach. You have done everything in the world to make me happy.I shall just tear up the ground until I can be with you. The documentary focuses primarily on Horatio Nelson Jackson and his Winton car, the Vermont; along with his companions Sewall K. Crocker, his pet pitbull Bud and frequent correspondence with Jackson's wife Bertha Richardson Wells (called "Swipes" by Jackson). And no, it hadnt been lost for 158 years. Everything that can break has broken already.". They removed the backseat to make more room for gear and spare parts. From there on, they were able to use a few paved roads, and their trip was much easier. Jackson walked back to the last town to get oil, only to discover eventually that they had been stopped only a short distance outside of Vale. Jackson had now been given two challenges - the time limit he was given and the two other drivers who believed they could beat him. He was frightening horses. The soundtrack includes a variety of music, including some bluegrass instrumentals and a modern rendition by Bobby Horton of an old song called "He'd Have to Get Under Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile)". They are repeatedly forced to use shovels and the block and tackle to push and drag the car through sand and mud. Their yellow Saxon automobile, nicknamed the Golden Flier, became a moving symbol of womens rights and a podium for speeches in many towns and cities. Horatio Nelson Jacksons Road Trip Route Across America. That someone was Horatio Jackson Nelson. There is nothing more quintessentially American than to set out on the open road in search of adventure. The trek will begin at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco with a gala sendoff, including the attendance of filmmaker Ken Burns, who recently completed a documentary about the first cross-country drive. The trip took 64 days, including numerous delays while the two men waited for parts or paused to hoist the Winton up and over a gully. The threat of the other teams would spur Jackson and Horatio on, pushing them to step up their pace across the unending Great Plains of Nebraska and beyond. Copyright20062023,Somerightsreserved. Roads are better here and they continue to make good time, often driving into the night just to log more miles and get themselves that much closer to home. York City. Occasionally horses and cars gave her "Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip", Learn how and when to remove this template message, He'd Have to Get Under Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile), The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God, Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony, Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Horatio%27s_Drive:_America%27s_First_Road_Trip&oldid=1107453344, Documentary films about United States history, Articles needing additional references from May 2019, All articles needing additional references, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 August 2022, at 02:26. Peter Kesling, 71, an orthodontist and antique auto museum owner from La Porte, Ind., has a good idea of what might be in store Tuesday when he climbs aboard his own 1903 Winton and starts out to duplicate the historic feat. Together, both events would dramatically alter the course of exploration and adventure for the next century. It was also the same year that the Frontier in America was consideredclosed. Take good care of yourself & dont worry. "A few people saw it as the wave of the future," Duncan said. (3) The car's 'cyclometer' fell off before crossing Idaho, leaving no way to tell how fast or how far they traveled for the remainder of the trip. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. When I telegraph you to come down leave on the first train, telephone the agency you are at the Holland & I will telegraph you both then come. The film is based on the book of the same name by Dayton Duncan. Mr. Crocker is a devotee of the new machines and expert as a chauffeur. Crocker of Seattle, both of whom are at the Palace ready for the journey. [6] The duo was also assisted in Sacramento by bicyclists who offered them road maps. On July 21, they set out from Cleveland, Ohio, to finish the last leg of the journey. The two-cylinder, 20-horsepower Winton that Kesling will be driving has only two speeds -- slow and slower. Traveled at 40 mph, and "said they sometimes spurted up to 60 miles an hour.". My answer would probably be computer. Louise Davis wrote of their attempt, The automobile is a treacherous animal for a long trip.. In Cheyenne, Wyoming, the trio took a short break as they waited for more money to come through the wire, and repaired yet another mechanical failure, this time to the wheel bearings. With lots of love to all I am yours.NelsonP.S. The cross-country trip, which now takes about two days if you drive nonstop. Want to know what other interesting things there are to see out on the road? Sponsored by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the trip began and ended in New Items continued to be lost, including another pair of Jackson's glasses. I had to know more! One hundred years ago, on May 23, 1903, an eccentric doctor from Vermont named Horatio Nelson Jackson set off from San Francisco in a 20-horsepower Winton touring car, hoping to become the first . The Indians especially never tired of gazing at the machine. Proper roads were so few and far between at this point, that there were no maps. Jacob Murdock and his family drove from Pasadena to New York City in just 32 days. The finishing dash over the plains to the East Coast was as much a struggle with the "buffalo wallows" as it was with the car, but in the end Jackson was not to be denied. He twice ran for Governor of Vermont. The thick coating of mud gave evidence that it had been somewhere and that somewhere a long way off. As an indication of how slow this trip would turn out to be, the first stop was a few blocks east of the Palace Hotel -- the San Francisco-Oakland ferry terminal. In 1916, a car covered its entire length in just 5 days so much faster than that first trip across the country! After one harrowing drive over a stretch of narrow, bumpy road in the Cascade range, the two men noticed their cooking utensils had jiggled out. They helped prove that long-distance road travel was a realif expensive and difficultpossibility. Outside of major cities, spotting a car then was almost the equivalent of seeing a UFO today. [6] When their tires blew out they were required to wind rope around the wheels. Doctors were outnumbered by blacksmiths and most Americans rarely traveled than twelve miles from home because that was the distance a horse-and-wagon could cover to take them out and back home again in a single day. Horatio's Drive is a co-production of Florentine Films and WETA. His arrival in New York City, after every imaginable breakdown and delay, proved that the "horseless . To commemorate Jackson and Crocker's trip, a rerun of the approximate route in a similar 1903 vintage car will start in San Francisco on June 17 and finish the same day as the original 1903 drive, in New York City on July 26. Nell Richardson, Alice Burke, and the Golden Flier, 1916. My darling Swipes. Upon reaching the threshold of Jackson's garage, the Vermont's drive chain snapped. This spur-of-the-moment trip, partially based on a bet, unknowingly turned into a race. Even before roads stretched across the nation, well-publicized cross-country automobile trips advertised car manufacturers, promoted political causes, and proved Horatio Jackson, Sewall Crocker, Bud and the "Vermont", Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, October 19, 2018, 4. [6] Before reaching Cheyenne, however, the car's wheel bearings gave out, and Crocker had to talk a farmer into letting them have the wheel bearings of his mowing machine. Jackson's trip started in a hastily purchased Winton that he named the "Vermont" four days after he made the bet. I find it fascinating how similar my own road trip experiences were in some ways to the very first cross-country journey. This physical limitation defined the spaces people occupied at the last turn of the century and made wandering beyond these informal limits rare and difficult. Packard and Oldsmobile had for several months been meticulously planning similar trips with expert drivers and mechanics, support crews and modified cars when Jackson simply loaded up the Winton and split. [1] He married Bertha Richardson Wells, the daughter of William Wells, a Medal of Honor recipient and one of the richest men in Vermont as a partner in Wells, Richardson & Co., manufacturer of Paine's Celery Compound, a popular patent medicine. We are spending most of the time trying to get out of water and mud holes. 1st auto passed thru yesterday; came via Camas Prairie and Croy Gulch to Hailey, "hence to Bellevue and on to Blackfoot." On June 6, the car broke down, and they had to be towed to a nearby ranch by a cowboy on horseback. Keep reading to find out more Which came first, the snow or the passion? This article about a historical documentary film is a stub. Horatio Jackson's Winton in the Smithsonian. When Im writing something, I want to use the perfect word to get my meaning across. As luck would have it, the movie was available on Amazon prime for just a few more days so I immediately added it to the top of my list. Sometimes, though, we had to hunt for five miles to find a place where we could get our machine on the track. Here we slept under our carriage. I have been using thesauruses (thesauri is the preferred plural of the author but thesauruses is definitely more fun to say!) It is generally believed that Kesling will make it farther than Jackson before the first breakdown, which happened barely 15 miles outside of San Francisco on the 1903 trip, when a tire blew. Bud became an efficient watchman and was left in front seat at all stops to guard the car and equipment. What roads did exist, were holdovers from the wagon train trading routes of the 1850s, 60s, and 70s the Old West of cowboy and Indian lore. Quite a flurry of excitement was erected Saturday evening by the arrival of an automobile. The automobile was about to transform American life. [7] Jackson and Crocker replaced it with the only spare they had, in fact, the only right-sized spare tire they could find in all of San Francisco. A relay of young horseback riders rode non-stop at top, Read More The Mail Must Go Through!Continue, Quick question is the voice of the announcements in the airport a person or a computer? Dr. Nelson has provided the very latest kind of gasoline machine, large and commodious and 20-horsepower. This is a bad start for our first eleven days out. "Which way to Marysville?" "That's why I'm optimistic. Lets follow along on his journey, shall we? He was outfitted with his own driving goggles as protection from the dust and settled right in for the journey. Even before we had cars, Americans have been drawn out to explore the unknown horizons. Wilson Bentley was an amazingly passionate man who dedicated his life to photographing microscopic snowflakes. Horatio's Drive Follow the route that Horatio Nelson Jackson and his passengers took across the country. An article in the. I go from here to Buffalo.I am tired & got to get up early in the morning & [I am] damn anxious to get you in my arms. "They were the visionaries and crackpots, which is sometimes the same person. Enter Horatios Drive: Americas First Road Trip, a documentary produced by Ken Burns. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. But when he, his mechanic, Sewall Crocker, and American bulldog Bud arrived in New York, a new era in American transportation had begun. There had to be an easier way to win a $50 bet. Darling Swipes,The car is at the shop & they are to work all night so that I can get away in the morning. The 1903 Winton trip "was a pivotal moment in American automotive history," said Roger White, curator of an exhibition later this year at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History called "America on the Move." We only made 45 miles in our direct route. Bud was a young, light-colored bulldog who immediately added life to the journey. WhenWorld War Ibroke out, Jackson was considered too old to serve, but he contactedPresident Theodore Roosevelt and volunteered to became a commissioned officer. All Rights Reserved. He bought a slightly used, two-cylinder,[4] 20hp[5] Winton, which he named the Vermont, after his home state, bade his wife goodbye, and left San Francisco on May 23, carrying coats, rubber protective suits, sleeping bags, blankets, canteens, a water bag, an axe, a shovel, a telescope, tools, spare parts, a block and tackle, cans for extra gasoline and oil, a Kodak camera, a rifle, a shotgun, and pistols.[6]. They would finally begin to make up much needed time after so many days spent waiting for parts, repairs and money back in the Rocky Mountain high country. There will be breakdowns and tears and stories to last you through the years so get out there and start exploring! Horatio's Drive is the first chapter in our nation's great romance with the road. 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). By all accounts,Horatios bet was one made in the innocence of drunken exuberance. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), A Sky Full of Adventure at the Balloon Museum, The Right Word Peter Roget and His Thesaurus, Mosquitos - What are they good for? Let's share the joy of discovery together. On June 6th however, the car finally suffered a severe mechanical issue forcing them to stop all forward progress near Burns, Oregon for several days. Explore the Winton touring car, which Jackson took on his historic trip. 42 38.862 N, 111 42.124 W. Marker is near Soda Springs, Idaho, in Caribou County. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. My sense of humor gets me through life. As the nineteenth century came to an end, there were only 8,000 cars in the United States compared to 14 million horses. On July 26, 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson, a 31-year-old Vermont doctor, and his 22-year-old mechanic, Sewall Crocker, became the first to cross the United States in an automobile. With 146 illustrations and 1 map Read more Print length 192 pages Language English Driving an automobile from coast to coast in 1903 was a difficult and daring achievement. On May 23, 1903 the car was transported by ferry from San Francisco to Oakland and pointed eastward. Browse letters written by Horatio Nelson Jackson to his wife while on the road, and newspaper articles written about Jackson's epic trip. Horatio Nelson Jacksons road trip occasionally picked up help from more traditional means, More trailside repairs on Horatio Nelson Jacksons 1903 Road Trip, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window). Having resupplied the best they could, they struck back out onto the open roader,open range. more than 30 times. A map of Horatio's route and his 63-day itinerary The Gear After removing the backseat to make room for more gear, they packed the following items to begin the long journey: sleeping bags cooking gear rubber mackintoshes for themselves and the car (remember - no roof, no windshield!) There are no maps, no roads, no repair shops. Have you ever wondered about the first cross-country road trip? The worst of it is over & everyone is congratulating us.There are [others] on the way trying to beat us across. [but] I feel confident they will give it up. Dr. Jackson started his trek in San Francisco in a 20-horsepower Winton touring car he called "Vermont" (honoring the state in which he and his wife Bertha lived), and the final destination was Burlington, Vermont. Alturas, California. On July 12, the two men and the dog arrived in Nebraska where they found themselves back on paved roads. Another brother, Hollister Jackson, served as Lieutenant governor of Vermont. After leaving New York City Jackson joined his wife and drove home to Vermont. The Jackson-Crocker trip excited people across the nation. Our experts bring you content that exemplifies life in the North American Western States and Provinces. A former U.S. Forest Service firefighter, he has traveled extensively and covered a wide variety of issues during his career, including the Beijing Olympics, Hurricane Katrina, illegal American tourism in Cuba and a 40-day cross country car trip commemorating the history of automobile travel in America. Except for its heavy coat of mud and dilapidated front tires, the car is little the worse for its rough usage. He purchased a 1903 Winton "Horacio was the big guy on the road with a brand new car. Dr. H. Nelson Jackson and Sewall K. Crocker, his chauffeur, finished the first transcontinental automobile trip at half-past four o'clock yesterday morning. I asked her. They often This article related to a made-for-TV documentary film is a stub. The documentary has a companion book and audiobook, Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip, authored by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns, published by Knopf in 2003. The fateful bet was made during a club room discussion on May 19, 1903, when Jackson and his wife were on a stopover in San Francisco after they had traveled to Mexico and Alaska looking at potential mining investments. Generally speaking, America in 1903 hadno roadsbetween cities, towns, or any other landmarks for that matter. a tow. On our way back we were stopped by a man and asked if I didnt want a dog for a mascot. . They offered locals rides in the car in exchange for a "wild west show". Film-maker Ken Burns presents the hilarious 1903 saga of the first transcontinental automobile trip. The family all turned out to stare at us and told us we'd have to go back.We went back, and met the red-haired young woman again. Crocker made repairs, but a fuel leak caused them to lose all of their available gasoline, and Jackson rented a bicycle for Crocker to travel 25 miles (40km) to Burns, Oregon, for fuel. But this newfangled automobile enticed Americans with two things they wanted most: freedom and mobility. We shall try & get away tonight. In 1916, suffragists Nell Richardson and Alice Burke, with their cat Saxon, drove across and around the country to drum up support for voting rights for women. At the next available stop they outfitted Bud with a pair of goggles which Bud wore without fuss for most of the rest of the journey. Horatio Nelson Jackson departed San Francisco onMay 23rd, 1903 for what was to become Americas first ever road trip and all because of a 50 dollar bet made just 5 days prior. "We're standing in . The film features many old songs, framed by a popular number from 1914 called "He'd Have to Get Under Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile)". "Everyone pooh- poohed the idea of even attempting such a journey.". We took that road for miles and then it came to a dead end at an isolated farmhouse. His enthusiasm was matched only by his underestimate of the effort needed to accomplish the journey. Heeding the omens of a previously failed attempt to cross the continent just a couple years earlier by automobile pioneerAlexander Winton(original builder of Horatios Winton) by way of the deserts of Nevada and Utah, the two explorerstook a more northerly route through theSacramento Valley along the remnants of the originalOregon Trail. It took five months, and covered more than 10,000 miles. He was in San Francisco on vacation with his wife when, while sharing a few beers with some friendly strangers at the local University Club, he insisted that he had what it took to drive a car across the US. I shall write you when I can & shall depend on you to keep them posted.Yours till New York, Nelson.[P.S.] The journey was arduous and slow, but their trip made headlines wherever they went.