Dr. Jackson is a man of wealth, who is very fond of automobiling. Nell Richardson, Alice Burke, and the Golden Flier, 1916. Jackson chose a cherry red 1903 Winton Company touring car. Want to know what other interesting things there are to see out on the road? 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. Ill admit, I hadnt given it much thought myself despite my own epic road trip history. The duo was assisted in Sacramento by bicyclists who offered them road maps. History of Ballooning The first exhibit tells about the history of ballooning from 1783 to the current day. When the Winton needed repairs, they telegraphed the factory for parts and awaited delivery by railroad. [6], Jackson continued to reside in Burlington, Vermont, with his wife Bertha and Bud the dog. But when he, his mechanic, Sewall Crocker, and American bulldog Bud arrived in New York, a new era in American transportation had begun. Jackson and Crockers trip inspired an organized movement to improve the nations roads and make them better for cars. As the nineteenth century came to an end, there were only 8,000 cars in the United States compared to 14 million horses. 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. The canine was quickly fitted with a pair of goggles and, from then on, got second billing only to the "whizz wagon," as one newspaper called the "Vermont. Challenged by a sales manager for Maxwell automobiles, Yet the young retired doctor, along with a mechanical assistant and a dog, took up the . Having resupplied the best they could, they struck back out onto the open roader,open range. 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 outfitted with his own driving goggles as protection from the dust and settled right in for 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. The car is at the shop & they are to work all night so that I can get away in the morning I go from here to Buffalo. 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. Source: 'The Mad Doctor's Drive,' by Ralph Nading Hill; 'Winton 1903,' by Peter C. Kesling. Louise Davis wrote of their attempt, The automobile is a treacherous animal for a long trip.. 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. The idea of driving across the country captured the imagination of millions of Americans. They include: Archival footage of Horatio Nelson Jackson is included. This historical marker was erected by America's Byways. When the tires failed to materialize, however, they continued on after a three-day wait. 1899 -Louise and John Davis made the first known attempt to drive a car from coast to coast. Dr. Jackson left his practice after a diagnosis of tuberculosis. Browse letters written by Horatio Nelson Jackson to his wife while on the road, and newspaper articles written about Jackson's epic trip. Incidentally, half a ton of Nebraska clay, which it has gathered during the past few days, will be removed Monday Eve.Darling Swipes:While I think of it I want you to order two full sets more of the kodak pictures & have one set sent to Mrs. B. D. Crocker Tacoma, Wash. Keep the other set for me & bring all pictures & photos to N.Y. when you come to meet me there that is if you care to come.Well old girl I have brought the car to its birthplace & a great reception it got. Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip is a 2003 documentary film directed by Ken Burns and written by Dayton Duncan. 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 wife, though supportive of the trip, opted for a much easier train ride home to Vermont. Keep reading to find out more Which came first, the snow or the passion? Marker is on Soda Point Power Plant Road near Reservoir Road, on the right when traveling south. Mr. Crocker is a devotee of the new machines and expert as a chauffeur. 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). An article in the. This we did the result being that we ran across the desert to Swanton Falls a distance, out of our way, 38 miles. Traveled at 40 mph, and "said they sometimes spurted up to 60 miles an hour.". A broken mud guard and a sprung front axle alone attested the hard knocks it had had on its long journey. that the automobile could be more than an expensive toy. 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. This they consented to do and in about an hour we were on our way again. [1] H. Nelson Jackson and Bertha Wells were the parents of daughter Bertha (19061984), the wife of George B. Kolk and the longtime editor of the Burlington Daily News, of which her father was publisher.[2]. Jackson had spent The press came out at every stop to take their picture and conduct interviews. She returned home by train, allowing him to take his adventure by automobile. Jackson was seated in a gentleman's club when he overheard a discussion at another table about the impracticability of automobiles. DriveBestWay.com is a route planner for car travelers, providing a lot of travel-related calculations like road distance, driving time, fuel cost Online route planner for car travelers - United States and worldwide - DriveBestWay.com (You can see a few clips on the PBS website.) An automobile trip across the continent that will be watched with a great deal of interest will start from this city this morning. What there was however, was a loose patchwork of wagon and horse trails connecting the sparse fabric of humanity. Outside of major cities, spotting a car then was almost the equivalent of seeing a UFO today. Horatio Nelson Jackson was a physician from Vermont who married Bertha Wells, the daughter of the richest man in Vermont. Hi! The Winton Touring Car "Vermont" and Bud Googles are displayed in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History until this day. Im laid-back, sometimes scattered, a little curious, love to laugh, and always up for a fun road trip. In 1903, he and driving partner Sewall K. Crocker became the first people to drive an automobile across the United States. 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. Driving Directions to Prescott, AZ including road conditions, live traffic updates, and reviews of local businesses along the way. Have you ever wondered about the first cross-country road trip? 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? Constitution Avenue, NW Captions: (left) Horatio Nelson Jackson (driving), Sewall K. Crocker (right), and Bud in the "Vermont. 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. [14][15], The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Major (Medical Corps) Horatio N. Jackson, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 313th Infantry Regiment (attached), 79th Division, A. E. F., near Montfaucon, France, September 26-29, 1918. 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. Its not until they reach Iowa that they finally begin to travel at a decent unimpeded speed, averaging nearly 150 miles per day. 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. [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. York City. At this point, the trio became celebrities. "I wanted paw and maw and my husband to see you," she said. Youre going to love it here. Once underway again, it was only 3 days later that they ran out of oil. Even before we had cars, Americans have been drawn out to explore the unknown horizons. This article related to a made-for-TV documentary film is a stub. [12] While attached to the 313th Infantry, 79th Division as a surgeon, Jackson was wounded near Montfaucon during the MeuseArgonne Offensive. 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. Despite mud, washouts, breakdowns, and a lack of roads and bridges in the West, they finished their trip in 63 days. , 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. After driving the distance, they moved the path back in front of the car, repeating the process until they cleared the area. 2023 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). In Idaho, Jackson acquired Bud, and the bulldog accompanied the pioneering motorists to the East Coast. The jaunt will not only be a trip back in history, but a clash of early 20th and 21st century technologies. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. 2023 Behind Every Day - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP. We only made 45 miles in our direct route. "That's why I'm optimistic. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. 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. Theres also a book which I grabbed on my very next visit to the library. But only 15 miles (24km) into the journey, the car blew a tire. The running time to Alturas was five and a half days; about 125 miles per day, without accident or incident worthy of mention. "I had," he later recalled, "succumbed completely to a primary enthusiasm for the newfangled horseless buggy.". His two brothers, each driving his own automobile, came to help him get going again. In 1903, he and driving partner Sewall K. Crocker became the first people to drive an automobile across the United States. "At the time they made the trip, there was a perception that the American frontier was closed. On May 23, 1903 the car was transported by ferry from San Francisco to Oakland and pointed eastward. My darling Swipes. No one was injured; it was the only accident on the trip. On June 9, outside of Vale, Oregon, the Vermont ran out of oil. 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. Sponsored by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the trip began and ended in New Despite mud, washouts, breakdowns, and a lack of roads and bridges in the West, they finished their trip in 63 days. At one point, Bud drank bad water and became ill, but survived. Here we slept under our carriage. 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, 2 days after the bet, Horatiofinalized the purchase of his first car, a Winton that he dubbed The Vermont after his home state. Yesterday the framer drove in for miles to see my machine and there has been a hundred people around the livery stable since our arrival. took Jackson 63 days, cost him $8,000 and left a transcontinental trail littered with broken parts, tools, clothes, flat tires and tears. [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. It is displayed with reproductions of supplies and equipment that the men carried. They offered locals rides in the car in exchange for a "wild west show". "The rubber tires on the machine were somewhat worn and a new supply was ordered from the East by telegraph to be sent to this place. 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. "Horacio was the big guy on the road with a brand new car. Dr. Nelson has provided the very latest kind of gasoline machine, large and commodious and 20-horsepower. Keep in mind that most of what we knew about getting around the countryside at this time was oriented around the range of travel comfortable for your horse which on average was onlyabout 10-20 miles. The film is based on the book of the same name by Dayton Duncan. All Rights Reserved. Contents 1 Early life and medical career 2 Cross-country drive 2.1 Wager and preparation 2.2 Journey 3 Later life 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. The thick coating of mud gave evidence that it had been somewhere and that somewhere a long way off. 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. 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. They left San Francisco on May 23, 1903, loaded with gear and enthusiasm. The first effort to cross the country in 1899 ended inauspiciously for the car. It started with an animated chat and a $50 bet over drinks at the University Club in San Francisco 100 years ago and culminated in a bumpy cross- country car trip on rudimentary roads with a bicycle mechanic and a dog wearing goggles riding shotgun. At the time there were only 150 miles of paved roads in the entire country, all of them within city limits. On July 12, the two men and the dog arrived in Nebraska where they found themselves back on paved roads. Jackson was unable to buy a new tire, but purchased some used inner tubes. 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. California to New York. Interested in having your company's ad featured on Basin & Range Magazine? Horatio, Jackson and Bud Passing through town. The only mishap happened just east of Buffalo, New York, when the Vermont ran into a hidden obstacle in the road and Jackson, Crocker, and Bud were thrown from the car. Driving Directions to Omaha, NE including road conditions, live traffic updates, and reviews of local businesses along the way. They are all like a lot of kids I have made arrangements to have the Winton agent at New York to take you up the Hudson to meet me. My darling Swipes,We expected our express on No. "They've never seen an automobile. [1] His siblings included John Holmes Jackson, who served several terms as mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Early life and medical career [ edit] As I had been trying to steal one we were glad to get him so accepted the present (consideration $15.00). The further they pushed on through Idaho and Wyoming, the more it seemed that the team would actually make it. The rough and tumble wagon trails which they followed, combined with the noisiness of their Winton, rendered them unable to tell when they would lose valuable items off the back of the car. This article about a historical documentary film is a stub. This post contains affiliate links. Finally, the end is in sight! ), coats and sweaters and two small suitcases for their clothes, a set of tools including two jacks, a spade, and a firemans ax, a block and tackle with 150 feet of hemp rope, a small Kodak camera to record his trip (this just warms my little memory-keeping heart! After twomore days ofplanning and preparation, the two began their unbelievable impromptu journey eastwardtowards New York City. Horatio Nelson Jackson (March 25, 1872 - January 14, 1955) was an American physician and automobile pioneer. A stop of two days was made here to await their arrival, and on Tuesday morning the adventurous travelers resumed their journey.". Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip TV Movie 2003 TV-G 1 h 47 m IMDb RATING 8.0 /10 546 YOUR RATING Rate Documentary Adventure History The saga of Horatio Nelson Jackson, the first man to cross the United States by automobile--in 1903! On the first night of the journey they discovered that the side lanterns were too dim. Before leaving, the machine will have a thorough overhauling and be put into condition for fast running. H. Nelson Jacksons trip in 1903 inspired dozens of motorists to cross the country. Got onto the right road again and reached Orchid at eleven oclock. Dr. H. Nelson Jackson and Sewall K. Crocker (and Bud!) In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson, a doctor from Vermont, was in San Francisco with his wife when he made a bet. 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. Jackson and Crocker opted to start out following the railroad north into Oregon. It will be undertaken by Dr. H. Nelson Jackson of Vermont and S.K. They have been very short & dear ones to me. Whether or not a bet was really made, it did happen rather suddenly. 42 38.862 N, 111 42.124 W. Marker is near Soda Springs, Idaho, in Caribou County. She extracted the Maxwell from washouts and mudholes with block and tackle, a jack, even fence rails under the wheels. I am not much of a hand to write love letters: you didnt give me a chance for much practice, but you know dear how I feel. One hundred years later, another doctor is following in Jackson's patched tire tracks. for many, many years. Somewhere along this route, Jackson lost a pair of his glasses. Explore the Winton touring car, which Jackson took on his historic trip. Here they prepare to light the acetylene gas headlamps. Lets follow along on his journey, shall we? About 15 miles (24km) from home his car once again broke down. 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 . Data by OpenStreetMap, under CC BY SA. 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. It was for $50 and made on the spur of the moment, over drinks at the San. In 1909, Alice Huyler Ramsey, of Hackensack, New Jersey, became the first woman to drive across the United States. Several noted actors read the lines of various historical figures. Just 4 days after declaring his intentions, he had found a car and a chauffeur. Jackson and Crocker face obstacle after obstacle on their trip. Who knew there were, Are there any other thesaurus lovers out there? His traveling companions were Sewall K. Crocker and a bulldog, Bud. The experiences and adventures of the trip have been of an exciting nature, which may be better understood when it is known that he traveled 3,000 miles through a country never before touched by an automobile. Click on each stop of the journey to learn. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. If you click & make a purchase, I receive a commission! Together, both events would dramatically alter the course of exploration and adventure for the next century. Ramseys sisters-in-law and a friend accompanied her on the trip from New York to San Francisco. 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. In addition to the effect the rough roads had on their possessions, it also took its toll on the Winton and their equipment. All day yesterday it was visited by admiring automobilists, and curious passersby peeped in upon it. 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 . So Bud is now with us.We stopped at Nampa and had lunch at the Dewey Hotel. In Caldwell, Idaho, they met a man who offered them a dog as a mascot. Following the railroad would also make it easier to access supplies along the way. The axle crank and two connecting rods broke and they had to send to the Cleveland factory to replace them. Jackson died on January 14, 1955 in Burlington, Vermont and was buried in the Lakeview Cemetery there. ), additional tanks to hold extra oil and gasoline for emergencies. 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. No sooner than Jackson had finished the repair however, that they then suffered a gasoline leak which wasted all their available fuel. The trip began after a discussion in a San Francisco mens club as to the feasibility of a transcontinental auto crossing. "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. Sewall K. Crocker Sewall K. Crocker, a 22-year-old former professional bicycle racer from Tacoma, Washington, was working in. Horatio Nelson Jackson (March 25, 1872 - January 14, 1955) was an American automobile pioneer. 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. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. "We're standing in . 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. Soon after, the triowithBud sporting his fashionable goggles, began to accumulate some fame along their journey. On July 21, they set out from Cleveland, Ohio, to finish the last leg of the journey. There were also no signs because most people out driving were locals who knew all the turns already. used a block and tackle to pull the car out of mudholes. At Hailey, Idaho, Crocker wired the Winton Motor Carriage Company for more parts, which, combined with the increasing press coverage, spurred the Winton car company to step up their support efforts since to them it meant an increased positive image of the company. 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. I asked her. African American History Curatorial Collective. A significant historical date for this entry is July 23, 1903. Reaching Alturas, California, Jackson and Crocker stopped to wait for the tires. Driving an automobile from coast to coast in 1903 was a difficult and daring achievement. My answer would probably be computer. When Im writing something, I want to use the perfect word to get my meaning across. Thankfully, they could then manage about 250 miles a day. There are a few windmill museums in the world and Ive been lucky enough to visit one. On our way back we were stopped by a man and asked if I didnt want a dog for a mascot. The machine drove up in front of the Hotel Lakeview and stopped.The Chauffeur inquired for a blacksmith shop, having had a mishap coming over the rough roads. Soon enough though, while traveling though the alkali flats of eastern Oregon and Idaho, they noticed that the harsh environment irritated Buds eyes. Later, somewhere in Idaho, they lost Jacksons coat which contained most of the travelers money. Article from American Heritage . While crossing the Rocky Mountains, they were moving boulders by hand out of their path. In 1901, a much-publicized attempt by car manufacturer Alexander Winton to go from San Francisco to New York came to an unceremonious halt in a sand drift in Nevada. Shortly after returning to the road, both of the brothers' vehicles broke down, and Jackson towed them both home with the Vermont. In Oregon, their path would often require them to ford streams some of which were quick and easy while others would require them to get out, affix the block and tackle and man-haul their trusty steed across the raging torrents. ", Jackson had wanted a dog along on the trip and purchased the American bulldog, Bud, in Caldwell, Idaho. Allegedly Jackson made a $50 bet that he could drive from San Francisco to New York in less than 90 days. They are repeatedly forced to use shovels and the block and tackle to push and drag the car through sand and mud. Copyright20062023,Somerightsreserved. He twice ran for Governor of Vermont. 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.