Subsequently, their mileage took a sharp increase andtheir rate of trail damage sharply decreased. After driving the distance, they moved the path back in front of the car, repeating the process until they cleared the area. He is also very handy at repairing, a faculty that may prove of value. While in San Francisco's University Club as a guest on May 18, 1903, he agreed to a $50 wager (equivalent to $1,508 in 2021[3]) to prove that a four-wheeled machine could be driven across the country. 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. Just as soon as I can get decent tires we will make a record run. Steve Perkins, Executive Director of the Vermont Historical Society, gives us a little background, before launching into the fascinating story of Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson. The two-cylinder, 20-horsepower Winton that Kesling will be driving has only two speeds -- slow and slower. Jackson and S.K. 1899 -Louise and John Davis made the first known attempt to drive a car from coast to coast. LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- On May 23, 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson was just two days into his grand adventure of becoming the first person . Once underway again, it was only 3 days later that they ran out of oil. 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? Indeed had a flying machine lit down in their midst it would not have created greater astonishment. The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental motor route, created in 1913. In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson, a doctor from Vermont, was in San Francisco with his wife when he made a bet. Jackson's bold adventure in a horseless carriage in many ways created the America we live in today, filled with a network of highways, thousands of motels, fast-food joints at every intersection and SUVs. At their next stop, Jackson had to wire his wife to send them money to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Horatio Nelson Jackson departed San Francisco on May 23rd, 1903 for what was to become America's first ever road trip - and all because of a 50 dollar bet made just 5 days prior. His arrival in New York City, after every imaginable breakdown and delay, proved that the "horseless . All Rights Reserved. ", Jackson had wanted a dog along on the trip and purchased the American bulldog, Bud, in Caldwell, Idaho. Press Clipping from Horatio Nelson Jacksons road trip across America. In addition to owning and publishing the Burlington Daily News, he was head of the Burlington Trust Company, and owned and operated radio station WCAX (now WVMT). On a visionary whim and a $50 bet, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson became the first person to drive an automobile across the continent. After Cheyenne, Jackson and Horatio both knew that the hard part of the journey was now behind them. ", Bud, wrote Jackson, was "the one member of (our) trio who used no profanity on the entire trip.". Director Ken Burns Writer Dayton Duncan Stars Keith David (voice) Tom Hanks (voice) Adam Arkin (voice) Crocker Will Start this Morning on Automobile Trip They Hope Will End in New York. By CATHERINE SEIPP. Lets follow along on his journey, shall we? They are repeatedly forced to use shovels and the block and tackle to push and drag the car through sand and mud. Theres also a book which I grabbed on my very next visit to the library. It turned out that the dusty alkali flats the travelers encountered would bother Bud's eyes so much (the Vermont had neither a roof nor windshield) that Jackson eventually fitted him with a pair of goggles. I am always amazed by the hot air balloon gondolas on display, seeing how small they are while reading, Read More A Sky Full of Adventure at the Balloon MuseumContinue, I dont know what it is about windmills, but whenever I see one of the old classic designs out on the prairie, I just want to stop and take a picture. Horatio Jackson, Sewall Crocker, Bud and the "Vermont", Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, October 19, 2018, 4. Want to know what happened? Keep in mind that the cars of 1903 were little more than expensive playthings for hobbyists and hadnt really been proven to be worthy of such a bet. completed the first transcontinental automobile trip, from San Francisco to New York, in 63 days, 12 hours and 30 minutes. "HORATIO CAM" DIGITAL FOOTAGE Allen Moore ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Susanna Steisel COORDINATING PRODUCER Pam Tubridy Baucom FIELD PRODUCER Craig Mellish NARRATED BY Keith David THE VOICE OF HORATIO. Following the railroad right-of-way seemed the best way to go as they headed out. "From Sea to Sea in a Horseless Carriage", Dr. H.N. Whether or not a bet was really made, it did happen rather suddenly. Constitution Avenue, NW In 1903, he and driving partner Sewall K. Crocker became the first people to drive an automobile across the United States. The trip, sparked by a $50 gentlemen's wager, took 63 days. Sewall Crocker was a 22 year-old former bicycle racer who had been working in a gas engine factory when Dr. Jackson hired him to be the mechanic and co-driver for the journey. 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. I have lost 5 days. Interested in having your company's ad featured on Basin & Range Magazine? (5) Both men and the dog were thrown from the car after striking an obstacle. 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. After 63 days on the road, the expedition reached New York. The amazing journey of Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson, and the first successful car trip across the United States, has been commemorated in a documentary film by the celebrated Ken Burns, "Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip", which debuts Monday, October 6th, at 9:00 p.m. on PBS. 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. 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. It was also the same year that the "Frontier" in America was considered closed. Americans have driven millions of miles back and forth across the country over the years but someone had to be first. I shall think of you a good deal tomorrow, as I always do. Our experts bring you content that exemplifies life in the North American Western States and Provinces. We only made 45 miles in our direct route. On June 16, somewhere in Idaho, Jackson's coat, containing most of the travelers' money, fell off and was not found. This growing glimmer of hope eventually attracted the attention of the Press, who would anticipate their next town arrival and show up to document their adventures. Jackson was unable to replenish the tire he blew but was however able to purchase some slightly used inner tubes. At Mountain Home, Idaho, citizens warned them that the Oregon Trail was not good further east, so Jackson and Crocker veered off their original course along the southern edge of the Sawtooth Mountains. [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. They often On their arrival, the mud besmirched and travel stained vehicle which had borne them so faithfully and sturdily over fifty-six hundred miles of roads between the Pacific and the Atlantic was housed in a garage in West 58th Street. - Behind Every Day, rubber mackintoshes for themselves and the car (remember no roof, no windshield! [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. Location. 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. After leaving New York City Jackson joined his wife and drove home to Vermont. Its subject is the first cross-country automobile journey in the United States, which occurred during the summer of 1903. 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. Let's share the joy of discovery together. This we did the result being that we ran across the desert to Swanton Falls a distance, out of our way, 38 miles. But still, troubles continued to plague Horatio and Jackson. 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. used a block and tackle to pull the car out of mudholes. It is Near Soda Springs in Caribou County Idaho, 3. With them they brought little more than a couple of coats, some protective canvas suits, a couple of sleeping bags, some blankets, canteens, a water bag, an ax, a shovel, a telescope, some bicycle repair tools, a few spare parts, a block and tackle, extra cans gasoline and oil, a camera, a rifle, a shotgun, and a couple of pistols. Before leaving, the machine will have a thorough overhauling and be put into condition for fast running. Yet the young retired doctor, along with a mechanical assistant and a dog, took up the . This allowed them to avoid the higher passes in the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains. Jackson was possessed of a deep thirst for adventure, and his remarkable story chronicles the very beginning of the restless road trips that soon became a way of life in America. When we get there the worst will be over.I can run the car as well as Crocker & have rather surprised him We take 2 hours on and 2 off at the wheel. No one was injured; it was the only accident on the trip. As the nineteenth century came to an end, there were only 8,000 cars in the United States compared to 14 million horses. Jackson was seated in a gentleman's club when he overheard a discussion at another table about the impracticability of automobiles. Peter's car is 100 years old, and he has to worry about semi-trucks.". The Winton Touring Car "Vermont" and Bud Googles are displayed in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History until this day. 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. It is displayed with reproductions of supplies and equipment that the men carried. took Jackson 63 days, cost him $8,000 and left a transcontinental trail littered with broken parts, tools, clothes, flat tires and tears. WhenWorld War Ibroke out, Jackson was considered too old to serve, but he contactedPresident Theodore Roosevelt and volunteered to became a commissioned officer. The thick coating of mud gave evidence that it had been somewhere and that somewhere a long way off. (2) A team of horses rescued the car from being swallowed by quicksand. The journey was arduous and slow, but their trip made headlines wherever they went. 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). Western roads were still unimproved in 1909 when Alice Huyler Ramsey drove across the country. 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. 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. Dr. H. Nelson Jackson and Sewall K. Crocker (and Bud!) . His traveling companions were Sewall K. Crocker and a bulldog, Bud. I asked her. Documentary film maker Ken Burns produced a film, Horatio's Drive, for PBS. Then the caption about the first ever cross-country road trip sealed the deal. But if there was one thing Horatio had, it was a steadfast commitment to the dream. Sign up to get updates about the film and future projects from Ken Burns and Florentine Films. On the first night of the journey they discovered that the side lanterns were too dim. Article from American Heritage . 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. According to the Winton Companys numbering system, the car he bought was Number 1684 but he chose to christen it with the name. "At the time they made the trip, there was a perception that the American frontier was closed. After repairing the flat, they stopped again inSacramento, CA to replace & upgrade their all too dim headlights and met some friendly cyclists who offered them road maps to the local area. 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. On June 6, the car broke down, and they had to be towed to a nearby ranch by a cowboy on horseback. Bud became an efficient watchman and was left in front seat at all stops to guard the car and equipment. "Fifty dollars says I can drive a car to New York." This was quite a boast for a man without a car or mechanical knowledge. Please give my best love to your mother & tell [my] father & mother that I love them as much as ever. His siblings included John Holmes Jackson, who served several terms as mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Car: 1903 Winton two-seat touring car No. He purchased a 1903 Winton And having become the first to drive a car across the nation, within hours of their. The Pres of the firm with his associates came out & we had quite a procession into the city. Washington, D.C. Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use). Until that time, the current route was but a well-traveled wagon road parallel with the Oregon Short Line railroad. My darling Swipes. His two brothers, each driving his own automobile, came to help him get going again. Horatio Nelson Jackson (March 25, 1872 - January 14, 1955) . He owned a newspaper, a bank andradio station WCAX (nowWVMT). Keep reading The Pony Express is a well-known American mail delivery service of the early 1860s. "The majority opinion expressed was that, save for short distances, the automobile was an unreliable novelty," Jackson later wrote. The next day they arrived in Ontario, Oregon, where supplies waited for them. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. The duo was assisted in Sacramento by bicyclists who offered them road maps. This article about a historical documentary film is a stub. A broken mud guard and a sprung front axle alone attested the hard knocks it had had on its long journey. Sign up for my occasional email updates! Churning dust irritated Buds eyes, and Jackson purchased this pair of goggles for him. He also writes about the cannabis industry, outdoor adventure, Native American issues and the culture of the West. When night came on we made camp beside the car, and having lost our cooking outfit and provisions, and [it] being an uninhabited region went to bed without any supper. Automobiles were in their infancy: The first American car had been produced only 10. I asked her. Most. [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]). Peter Fimrite is The Chronicle's lead science reporter, covering environmental, atmospheric and ecosystem science. Some people even took to dangling steel cables across roads to stop the "devil wagons.". Jackson walked back to the town of Vale, Oregon to stock up on oil for this latestrepair. They were facing a daunting task. 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). . In 1909, Alice Huyler Ramsey, of Hackensack, New Jersey, became the first woman to drive across the United States. He'd Have to Get Under Get Out and Get Under (to Fix Up His Automobile), "The First Cross-Country Road Trip Took 2 Men and a Pitbull 63 Days", "Three Transports in with Men and Supplies", "Col. Jackson, Legion's Father in Vt., Is Dead", "Persons from Many Parts of Vt. to Attend Col. Jackson's Funeral", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Horatio_Nelson_Jackson&oldid=1135349527, Bertha Richardson Wells (m. 1899 d. 1954), first U.S. cross country trip by automobile, This page was last edited on 24 January 2023, at 03:30. The first effort to cross the country in 1899 ended inauspiciously for the car. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. 1684; 20-horsepower, two-cylinder engine; nicknamed the 'Vermont' by Jackson, Car price: $2,500 Gasoline price range on trip: $0.35 to $1.05 per gallon Estimated miles traveled: 4,200. [1] Another brother, Hollister Jackson, served as Lieutenant governor of Vermont. At Mountain Home, Idaho they veered from the Oregon Trail for the first time since near the California border and turned south glancing by the southern edge of the Sawtooth Mountains. The idea of driving across the country captured the imagination of millions of Americans. The state of Vermont was so alarmed that it passed a law requiring every auto to be preceded down the street with a person waving a red flag. 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. We are spending most of the time trying to get out of water and mud holes. The further they pushed on through Idaho and Wyoming, the more it seemed that the team would actually make it. Jacob Murdock and his family drove from Pasadena to New York City in just 32 days. 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. Horatio's Drive is the first chapter in our nation's great romance with the road. Occasionally horses and cars gave her A picture of Horatios dog, Bud, wearing driving goggles, caught my attention first. African American History Curatorial Collective. Jackson attended the schools of Toronto and Toronto's collegiate institute. Be inspired! Enter Horatios Drive: Americas First Road Trip, a documentary produced by Ken Burns. Horatio Nelson Jacksons Road Trip Route Across America. Following the railroad would also make it easier to access supplies along the way. Tires, somewhat expectedly, continued to blow out forcing them at times to wind rope around the wheel so it could act as rudimentary tire but at least they could go on. Somewhere near Caldwell, Idaho, Jackson and Crocker obtained a dog, a bulldog named Bud. In the spring of 1903, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson became the first person to cross the United States in a car, following portions of what is now US 30 in Idaho and Wyoming. ), additional tanks to hold extra oil and gasoline for emergencies. Jackson, who was 31 in 1903, was undaunted by these conspicuous failures. They left San Francisco on May 23, 1903, loaded with gear and enthusiasm. Questions? Several noted actors read the lines of various historical figures. Darling SwipesOn our arrival here [I] was much surprised to find a man from the factory with a letter congratulating me and stating that they were willing to place men along the line with supplies at their expense.I have informed them that we have made the trip so far without their assistance & thought that perhaps [we] two greenhorns could do the rest of it. He then hired a partner/mechanic, Samuel Crocker, who was a successful bicycle racer to accompany him on his journey east. I shall write you when I can & shall depend on you to keep them posted.Yours till New York, Nelson.[P.S.] The party went to the Hollenden Hotel for a clean-up and for supper while the faithful bull dog mascot remained in charge and fought flies and kept off inquisitive newsboys. At this point, the trio became celebrities. They include: Archival footage of Horatio Nelson Jackson is included. Crocker suggested that Jackson buy a Winton car. 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." , At the time of Horatio Jackson's trek, only 150 miles of paved road existed in the country, and gas stations and road maps were non-existent. Our car will now be as good as new.We have had hard luck, but I think it all came at once. 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.