There were no gas stations and virtually no road maps as we know them today. Horatio Nelson Jackson (March 25, 1872 January 14, 1955) was an American automobile pioneer. 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. This is a bad start for our first eleven days out. 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Location. In 1903 there were only 150 miles of paved roads in the entire nation and most people had never seen a "horseless buggy" - but that did not stop Horatio Nelson Jackson, a 31-year-old Vermont doctor, who impulsively bet $50 that he could drive his 20-horsepower automobile from San Francisco to New York City. The cross-country trip, which now takes about two days if you drive nonstop. If Im laughing, even at myself, then Im not crying, right? for many, many years. From there on, they were able to use a few paved roads, and their trip was much easier. This they consented to do and in about an hour we were on our way again. Take good care of yourself & dont worry. Once underway again, it was only 3 days later that they ran out of oil. [1] Another brother, Hollister Jackson, served as Lieutenant governor of Vermont. The automobile was about to transform American life. , 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. Documentary film maker Ken Burns produced a film, Horatio's Drive, for PBS. My darling Swipes,Just a line to say that I am still alive Our things arrived this morning & we held divine services in the Blacksmith shop. Peter Fimrite is The Chronicle's lead science reporter, covering environmental, atmospheric and ecosystem science. Just 4 days after declaring his intentions, he had found a car and a chauffeur. [Horatio Nelson Jackson]. "Right down that road," she said and pointed. Jackson had now been given two challenges - the time limit he was given and the two other drivers who believed they could beat him. Im Sheila - a wife, mom to 3, and favorite human of a slightly-neurotic dog. Ramseys sisters-in-law and a friend accompanied her on the trip from New York to San Francisco. I came pretty nearly having cold feet. We took that road for miles and then it came to a dead end at an isolated farmhouse. Thanks for stopping by my campfire to share a story. 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. Shortly after returning to the road, both of the brothers' vehicles broke down, and Jackson towed them both home with the Vermont. Bud became an efficient watchman and was left in front seat at all stops to guard the car and equipment. Horatio Nelson Jackson (March 25, 1872 - January 14, 1955) . Heeding the failed attempt by automobile pioneer Alexander Winton (founder of the Winton Motor Carriage Company, which manufactured Jackson's car) to cross the deserts of Nevada and Utah, Jackson decided to take a more northerly route through the Sacramento Valley and along the Oregon Trail. Those who had seen automobiles mostly complained about the noise and dust they caused and their tendency to spook horses. This spur-of-the-moment trip, partially based on a bet, unknowingly turned into a race. "; (bottom center) 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. But if there was one thing Horatio had, it was a steadfast commitment to the dream. African American History Curatorial Collective. Allegedly Jackson made a $50 bet that he could drive from San Francisco to New York in less than 90 days. 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. 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. [1] He graduated with an MD degree from the University of Vermont in 1893, became a physician, and practiced in Brattleboro and Burlington. 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. 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. Jackson and Crocker replaced it with the only spare they had, which by the way, happened to be the only right-sized spare tire they could find before they left. He purchased a 1903 Winton While it was neither, the people's curiosity had been aroused from a report that an automobile was coming this way, and that if they wished to see it pass it was necessary to have a seat in the front row, otherwise it might go through at the rate of 90 miles an hour, and would be out of sight before they could run a block.It drove in sight at just 4 o'clock and the crowds surged forward to get a first look at a real live auto, a machine that nine-tenths of the people of Lake county had never seen. 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). . By CATHERINE SEIPP. (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. 1st auto passed thru yesterday; came via Camas Prairie and Croy Gulch to Hailey, "hence to Bellevue and on to Blackfoot." "Everyone pooh- poohed the idea of even attempting such a journey.". On May 23, 1903 the car was transported by ferry from San Francisco to Oakland and pointed eastward. The two-cylinder, 20-horsepower Winton that Kesling will be driving has only two speeds -- slow and slower. Sign up to get updates about the film and future projects from Ken Burns and Florentine Films. They offered locals rides in the car in exchange for a "wild west show". He then hired a partner/mechanic, Samuel Crocker, who was a successful bicycle racer to accompany him on his journey east. Another brother, Hollister Jackson, served as Lieutenant governor of Vermont. Horatio's Journey. Horatio's Drive is a co-production of Florentine Films and WETA. They were facing a daunting task. (Hollister Jackson was serving as Lieutenant Governor of Vermont when he died in the Great Vermont Flood of 1927. 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). Nelson Jackson, a physician and businessman from Burlington, Vermont, captured the nation's attention when he and Sewall K. Crocker, a mechanic, drove from California to New York. 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. Somewhere along this route, Jackson lost a pair of his glasses. 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. Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson, otherwise known as "The Mad Doctor," had no idea what he was getting into in 1903 when he strapped a spare tire onto his 20-horsepower Winton touring car and started out from San Francisco's Palace Hotel on the first automobile trip across America. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. 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. After 63 days on the road, the expedition reached New York. He was outfitted with his own driving goggles as protection from the dust and settled right in for the journey. Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip View history Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip is a 2003 documentary film directed by Ken Burns and written by Dayton Duncan. Despite mud, washouts, breakdowns, and a lack of roads and bridges in the West, they finished their trip in 63 days. Keep reading to find out more Which came first, the snow or the passion? Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). And no, it hadnt been lost for 158 years. On the first night of the journey they discovered that the side lanterns were too dim. Jackson estimated the cost of his 6,000 mile road trip as $8,000 which had been spent on the car, Crockers salary, food and lodging, never-ending new tires and repair parts, 800 gallons of gas, and the $15 spent to buy Bud. He was frightening horses. Dr. Jackson left his practice after a diagnosis of tuberculosis. Our experts bring you content that exemplifies life in the North American Western States and Provinces. This article about a historical documentary film is a stub. Its subject is the first cross-country automobile journey in the United States, which occurred during the summer of 1903. "Ocean to Ocean in an Automobile Car," Stephen Sears, Bud grew so accustomed to his riding goggles that "he would not begin the day's drive without them. Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip is a 2003 documentary film directed by Ken Burns and written by Dayton Duncan. You are the best little wife in the world and I am a mighty lucky fellow to have you.Yes, old girl, I appreciate it, if, sometimes I have a queer way of showing it.Four years tomorrow!!!! Jackson did manage to find a telegraph office and wired back to San Francisco for replacement tires to be transported to them along the journey. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. [Horatio Nelson Jackson] Interactive Map Home . Enough gasoline can be carried to run the machine 250 miles. Jackson died on January 14, 1955 in Burlington, Vermont and was buried in the Lakeview Cemetery there. Click on each stop of the journey to learn. 42 38.862 N, 111 42.124 W. Marker is near Soda Springs, Idaho, in Caribou County. and their dog Bud made the first successful transcontinental automobile trip. Sometimes, though, we had to hunt for five miles to find a place where we could get our machine on the track. 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. Contractor Welland assisted the party back to Archer and they are now coming to Cheyenne to remain till repairs can be made. Jackson's trip started in a hastily purchased Winton that he named the "Vermont" four days after he made the bet. 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. Its not until they reach Iowa that they finally begin to travel at a decent unimpeded speed, averaging nearly 150 miles per day. 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. [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]). Horatio's Drive America's First Road Trip 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 United States in the new-fangled "horseless carriage." Tom Hanks provided the voice-over narration for Horatio Nelson Jackson. Horatio Jackson's Winton in the Smithsonian, 5. Get set for an adventure that marked a new era in America! Following the war, he became one of the founders of theAmerican Legion, and twice ran forGovernor of Vermont. 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. This added several hundred miles to their route but they hoped to avoid the problems that Alexander Winton had faced in the desert sands of Nevada. History of Ballooning The first exhibit tells about the history of ballooning from 1783 to the current day. At a time when few women owned or drove cars, taking the wheel was a powerful symbolic act. Horatio Jackson, Sewall Crocker, Bud and the "Vermont", Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, October 19, 2018, 4. Horatio Nelson Jackson (March 25, 1872 - January 14, 1955) was an American physician and automobile pioneer. On June 16, somewhere in Idaho, Jackson's coat, containing most of the travelers' money, fell off and was not found. All day yesterday it was visited by admiring automobilists, and curious passersby peeped in upon it. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Be amazed! On July 21, they set out from Cleveland, Ohio, to finish the last leg of the journey. Jackson decided to give it a try. We shall now try & make a record trip. Jackson attended the schools of Toronto and Toronto's collegiate institute. 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. 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 . Before leaving, the machine will have a thorough overhauling and be put into condition for fast running. 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. Both the Packard and Oldsmobile companies sent their respective automobiles from California with hope of passing Jackson and claiming the title for first automobile to travel across the U.S. , It took 63 days to complete the journey, during which the trek merged with present-day Highway 30 near Pocatello, Idaho, and followed it into Soda Springs, Idaho, and finally into Granger, Wyoming. The first American automobiles had been built only 10 years earlier, and most people in America had never set eyes on the wildly expensive contraptions. Over a hundred years after Jacksons trip, I can still relate to some of his experiences. 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. Together, both events would dramatically alter the course of exploration and adventure for the next century. The trouble started with a flat tire near Hayward and, from then on, he and Crocker were alternately working on the car, pulling it out of mud holes, teetering on the edge of cliffs or simply getting lost. Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History, NearSoda Springs in Caribou County, Idaho , Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, June 22, 2017. Mr. Murdock did all the driving and even drove for more than twelve hours on a few days, just to cover more distance (just like me on my road trips!). Be inspired! You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. There had to be an easier way to win a $50 bet. Making matters worse, these trails were generally considered informaland werent typically mapped with any senseof care or accuracy. Wilson Alwyn Bentley was born on February 9, 1865, in Jericho, Vermont. Watch me now come to you.Nel. My sense of humor gets me through life. The press came out at every stop to take their picture and conduct interviews. The duo was assisted in Sacramento by bicyclists who offered them road maps. Have you ever wondered about the first cross-country road trip? Theres also a book which I grabbed on my very next visit to the library. He also served as a senior officer in the Officer Reserve Corps. The running time to Alturas was five and a half days; about 125 miles per day, without accident or incident worthy of mention. Sponsored by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the trip began and ended in New Last summer I received a letter that had been carried by the Pony Express. The Winton Touring Car "Vermont" and Bud Googles are displayed in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History until this day. 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. Questions? Just as soon as I can get decent tires we will make a record run. In 1903, he and driving partner Sewall K. Crocker became the first people to drive an automobile across the United States. Going northwards out of Sacramento, the noise of the car covered the fact that the duo's cooking gear was falling off. My answer would probably be computer. At 30 mph, "Horatio Nelson Jackson didn't have to worry about someone going 75 mph on the highway and running him over," said author Dayton Duncan, who wrote and co-produced the documentary and companion book "Horacio's Drive," with Burns. Explore a chronology of the invention of the automobile. Between June 20 and 21, all three of them got lost in Wyoming, and went without food for 36 hours before finding a sheepherder who gave them a meal of roast lamb and boiled corn. We only made 45 miles in our direct route. 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. "We're standing in . On June 6, the car broke down, and they had to be towed to a nearby ranch by a cowboy on horseback. After removing the backseat to make room for more gear, they packed the following items to begin the long journey: Unfortunately, a lot of their gear bounced out the back as they drove without them realizing it and several things were lost including two pairs of Jacksons eyeglasses. In honor of its achievement it was decorated with tiny flags and draped with national standards. The public's perception of this newfangled conveyance took a deep public relations dive on Sept. 13, 1899, when Henry H. Bliss stepped off a streetcar in Manhattan and was flattened by an electric-powered taxicab, becoming the first automobile fatality in the country. Here we slept under our carriage. Basin & Range is the premier resource for living the Active Outdoor Western Lifestyle. On the second night, they stopped early in Sacramento and replaced them with a large spotlight mounted on the front of the Vermont. But still, troubles continued to plague Horatio and Jackson. According to the Winton Companys numbering system, the car he bought was Number 1684 but he chose to christen it with the name. In 1903, he and driving partner Sewall K. Crocker became the first people to drive an automobile across the United States. Driving Directions to Prescott, AZ including road conditions, live traffic updates, and reviews of local businesses along the way. Challenged by a sales manager for Maxwell automobiles, We only made 45 miles in our direct route. Jackson had spent 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. Besides his medical practice, Jackson was an auto enthusiast who differed with the then-prevailing wisdom that the automobile was a passing fad and a recreational plaything. Horatio's Drive is a co-production of Florentine Films and WETA.