The Duryea’s first “motor wagon” was a used horse drawn buggy that the brothers purchased for $70 to which they installed a 4 HP, single cylinder gasoline engine.

I wuz just thinking about a picture cut from an old magazine of a Duryea, the first successful American car of 1893.

The old cigar box was filled with letters, greeting cards, family photos, etc., that had belonged to my husband’s grandmother, Willie Pickle.

Also in this box was a 1931 English school paper written by Jimmy’s mother, Clara Pickle Baker, when she was in the 9th grade, receiving a grade of 96.

Getting back to the picture of the Duryea gas-engined automobile.

Charles Edgar Duryea was an American engineer.   Charles and his brother, Frank Duryea, were initially bicycle makers in Washington, D.C., but later became world known as the first American gasoline-powered car manufacturers, headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Charles was the engineer and Frank built, tested and raced the cars.

The Duryea’s first “motor wagon” was a used horse drawn buggy that the brothers purchased for $70 to which they installed a 4 HP, single cylinder gasoline engine.

The car (buggy) had a friction transmission, spray carburetor and low tension ignition.

Frank test drove the vehicle on November 1893, and it was written up in The Republican newspaper with great fanfare.

This car-buggy was put in storage in 1894 where it stayed until 1920 when it was presented to the United States National Museum.

America’s first car race was won by Frank Duryea in Chicago in 1895. The race ran to Evanston, Illinois and back.  The only other finisher was one of three Benz cars, most made in Germany.

Since there was such a demand for the cars, thirteen cars were built by hand in the Duryea garage, thus being the first ever commercially produced vehicle.

In one of the articles stated Charles Duryea was presented an award for being the first to use pneumatic tires on an automobile, effectively starting the American automobile tire industry.

The first known auto accident involved a Duryea car.  A New York City motorist hit a bicyclist with his new Duryea.  The bike rider received a broken leg. The auto driver, Mr. Wells, spent the night in jail and the first traffic accident was recorded.

Duryea quit manufacturing their automobiles in 1917.

Duryea was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1973.

So many treasures of history are being found in this old cigar box, as I wuz just thinking.