Monday, February 22, 1954
THE CAPITAL JOURNAL, Salem. Oregon
'Page 1'
Horseless Buggy History
Dates Back Eighty Years
Salem's
By BEN MAXWELL
automotive history . of more runaways In Portland
dales back 80 years, to October
10, 1874.
In that year George B. Selden
was dreaming of a successful in
ternal combustion engine with
ignition accomplished by an ex
than had occurred since 1880.
1903 Important Year
Salem's first home-owned auto
mobile, as has so frequently been
mentioned, was uncrated April
lb. 1903. Fifty-one years of hiS'
ternal flame and useful for ve- j tory have shown this event to be
hide propulsion. He did not ap-j one of the more significant in
ply for a patent until 1879. And
the name "automobile was not
coined until near 1900, about 25
years after George Leslie crept
through a downtown Salem street
in a wheezy steam vehicle at a
pace approximating that of geo
logic times.
On Saturday, October 10, 1874,
a Statesman reporter wrote a
brief paragraph about the sen-
recorded time for this locality.
Then, however, the Statesman
did not bother with the yarn at
all and the Capital Journal treat
ed it somewhat facetiously on an
inside page.
Otto J. Wilson had acquired
this one cylinder, seven-horse-Rowcr
Oldsmobile, tiller steered,
with a curved dash and a start
ing crank that could be manipu
lation created by George Leslie's! lated from the scat, for $650
team wagon that had appeared 1 cash. He bought it because he
on Salem streets last Thursday j operated a bicycle shop and liked
noon. But, said this acconnt of machinery. He was also interest
80 veais ago, Leslie's animated ed in a hopyard and needed
kettle "was more of a novelty speedy transportation. Addition
than a success." ally, he was associated with John
Basically George's steam wag- Maurer, Salem's genius at me
on consisted of a small steam ! chanics who could keep his car
engine mounted on wheels and ! running if anyone could,
to arranged with cogs as to con- j Oldsmobile's slogan for 1902,
nect with the running gear. Pro
gress was definitely slow. Com
pared with it an "ox team pulling
a log truck attachment moved
with the speed of greased light
ning." Indeed, progress was only
discernible by sighting across the
street and lining George's chuff
ing contraption up with a fixed ; shop
when the company mass produc
ed 2500 merry Oldsmobiles, was
"Nothing to watch but the road."
Otto Wilson soon discovered this
was only a splendid euphemism
and carried plenty of tools and
spare parts when he ventured
out of sight of Maurer s machine
object and patiently waiting for
it to pass that given point.
Further, commented the cyni
cal reporter of 80 years ago:
"Should it come into common
use there would be no danger of
fast driving. Leslie expects to
exhibit it at the fair if he can
get there in time."
Inventor Raised Carp
Leslie's steam wagon was, per
haps, a product of Drake's Iron
Works where Jonathan Leslie
was an employe in 1880. In the
Lang and Himes history of the
Willamette Valley his name is
upellcd Lesley and it is there
recorded that he was married
1o Miss Eliza M. Graves in 1868.
His trade was that of carpenter
and carriage maker. Research by
Dave Duniway, state archivist,
discovers that he left no estate.
L. H. McMahan, who knew Les
lie, recalls that he lived at Front
and Fir streets (now Division)
70 odd years ago and that he
raised carp and was probably re
sponsible for their introduction
into the Willamette River. He
docs not remember Leslie as an
inventor and this writer who on
occasion read Leslie's obituary,
does not remember his being
mentioned as such.
More than 25 years passed be
fore anything resembling an au
tomobile is known to have again
appeared in Salem. Here and
there an oldtimer recalls that
a horseless carriage of early
gasoline vintage may have come
here as a feature of a dog and
ponv show' about 1902. Also in
that a Mobile Steam Touring
Car was driven from Seattle to
San Francisco in the "most dif
ficult auto trip on record." Driv
er George Carmack took his Mo
bile steamer down grades so
sleep that the machine slid with
out the wheels turning and
(hrnnch nlaces where a two horse
team could not take a wagon. No
Wrote the Capital Journal re
porter of 51 years ago:
"With the whizz and burr of
several motor bicycles and the
appearance of a number of
horseless carriages on Salem
streets the capitol city is becom
ing metropolitan."
On February 25, 1902, Millard
(Eli) Lee, representative for
Mitchell, Lewis & Staver, had
brought the first motorcycle to
Salem and ridden it down the
path from the State House, at a
rate of 20 miles an hour. He was
reported for "scorching" but no
Salem ordinance then covered
speed of automobiles or motor
cycles so he got off without fine
or punishment. August 5, 1902,
Ben Taylor was reported riding
a motorcycle. He wrecked it by
a misadventure less than two
weeks later and both Ben and
his cycle were laid up for re
pairs. F. A. Wiggins, the implement
dealer on Liberty Street, acquir
ed an agency for the Rambler
automobile, another one-cylinder
contraption, during the early
part of 1903 and whenMie saw
fit to proclaim its merits in print
on September 16, 1903, it be
came the Capital Journal's first
advertisement about an automo
bile. He sold a Rambler to
George Graves shortly after he
had acquired the agency and this
sale became the first of its kind
made by a local dealer.
The First Accident
First accident known to be at
tributed to an automobile in this
area happened immediately east
of the penitentiary about 2:30
o'clock on Saturdav afternoon.
Julv 11, 1003. Gustave Mitzner
both saw and heard the popning
contraption bearing down upon
him. He dismounted from his
bugey to bridle down his alarmed
horse. Despite his efforts tne
horse ran away, smashed Mitz-
record has been found to show ner s nuggy ann hiucn u-l" '
,u. ,u. Mhiio :i,m Tnnri-" what is now Four Corners. Soon
Car enroute to San Francisco I , Mitzner was at the Courthouse
years ago passed through Salem, demanding a John Doc warrant
Ownership of Oregon's first i for an unknown autoist.
onimnnhile had been attributed j Steam cars had an early
to Henry Wemme of Portland
who is said to have possessed a
Stanley steamer about 1893. This
Is an anachronism since the
Stanley brothers did not start
building their vehicle until July
6, 1897. He did. however, acquire
a Locomobile (then also a steam
vogue in this locality since some
drivers regarded them as being
safer and more reliable than
gasoline autos of the early 1900s.
But they soon discovered that
the operator had to be both a
plumber and an engineer. Also
something ot a inmost, i ne ursi
er) in 1898 which mav have been ! one here was a w niie nwnen n
Oregon's first automobile. In a J. H. Albert. Its engine was ce.ir.
single vear his chuffing steamer j ed directlv to the rear wheels
is accredited as being the cause and could not he disengaged.
Like others of its kind it gen
crated steam quickly and just
is quickly exhausted itself. A
misadventure with this vehicle
in the Eola Hills cost Mrs. Al
bert her life. George Graves ac
quired a steamer from Fj-cd Wig
gins but found it too complex
for his mechanical capacity and
engaged a "mechanician," as
chauffeurs were then called, to
run it for him.
First electric car in Salem was
owned by Mrs. It. P. Boise, a
product of the Columbus Buggy
Company acquired "in 1909. A
second electric was owned by
Mrs. Thomas Livesley and the
third, a Baker, was Miss Sally
Bush's proud possession until she
maneuvered it through the doors
of Opera House Pharmacy to
create havoc among the pills.
License Law Passed
When Oregon's licensing law
for automotive vehicles became
effective May 17, 1905, the age
of pioneering with combustion
of wheels may be said to have
ended. Automobiles had not yet
been perfected. But he days of
high adventure were approaching
a close. The next decade saw a
demand for good roads, the self
starter made driving i car prac
tical for women, and the car it
self became more reliable and
more efficient.
Forty-nine years ago 17 auto
mobiles were owned in Salem
ranging from a one-cylinder Ori
ent Buckboard costing $375 and
owned by Frank J. Moore to a
big and costly White steamer
that was the pride of George
J. Pierce. Then John G r a b e r
owned an Olds used to trans
port those . willing to pay the
price for a round trip to the
Lewis and Clark Fair. He, alone,
is believed to be the only sur
vivor of this early age of auto
motive transportation in Salem.
About a third of a million pure
tones can be detected by the hu
man ear.
Woodbum to Study
Union High School
WOODBURN A meeting
will be held Wednesday night,
March 3, at the Washington
school in Woodburn of the di
rectors of the school boards of
four adjoining school districts
and the Woodburn school board
for the expression of views on
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the feasibility and desirability of
organization of the four districts
to maintain a common high
school.. Boards of the Monitor,
Union, Mt. Angel and McKee
schools are to be invited to par
ticipate. A decision to call the meeting
of the directors of the four
schools was reached at a meet
ing of the Woodburn school di
rectors and a group of interested
citizens at the Washington school.
Wednesday evening.
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