Today in History—May 23: The First Great American Road Trip

On this day in 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson and Sewall Crocker embarked on the first transcontinental automobile trip. They made it—despite few paved roads, questionable maps, no gas stations, no rest stops, no fast food, and no playlists.

The journey took just over 63 days. The adventure was full of mechanical malfunctions, misleading directions, and rough patches, but they pushed through.

It started, as such things do, with a bet. Jackson, a 31-year-old doctor and car enthusiast visiting California from his home state of Vermont, wagered $50 that he could drive across the country. He hired Crocker, a bicyclist and mechanic, as his sidekick.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

For $3,000, Jackson purchased a used Winton touring car that he dubbed the Vermont. It boasted a two-cylinder engine and 20 horsepower. Imagine driving coast-to-coast in a souped-up golf cart, and you have a sense of the trip.

From San Francisco they headed north through Oregon. In Idaho they picked up Bud, a bulldog who became their mascot. They equipped their intrepid canine companion with goggles to keep road dust out of his eyes.

They followed a path along railroads, roughly similar to modern I-80: across Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa. East of the Mississippi River the journey became easier thanks to better roads, and they zoomed (relatively speaking) through Chicago and along the Great Lakes to Cleveland and Buffalo. They arrived in New York City on July 26.

The United States had fewer than 150 miles of paved roads, all in cities. The first gas station was still two years away. They had to rely on the sometimes unreliable directions of locals. The Vermont broke down frequently, and the travelers had to wait for trains to deliver parts.

Despite the difficulties, news of their adventure traveled ahead by telegraph. Reporters and crowds greeted them in towns along the way. Some eager spectators had never seen a “horseless buggy.”

Encouraged by rival car companies, other drivers began the same trek even as the trio was still en route. But Jackson, Crocker, and Bud made it first, proving that a car could be driven from sea to shining sea. Their exploit paved the way for future transcontinental road trips and became part of the mythology of the American open road.

Famous Birthdays

1707: Carolus Linnaeus—Swedish botanist

1779: Paul Moody—American inventor and mechanic

1817: Gustave-Adolphe Thuret—French botanist who gave the first accounts of fertilization in brown algae

1875: Kate Barnard—Oklahoma welfare leader and first woman to hold elected state-level office in the U.S.