Todays #ThrowbackThursday takes us back to April 1900 in nearby #Kalamazoo! This 1899 Locomobile, now on display at the Gilmore Car Museum, drew a curious crowd of onlookers when it arrived in Kalamazoo by train and became the city’s very first “horseless carriage.” Its new owner, Mr. George Taylor, pulled it home by horse and began studying the instruction manual. Even after studying the manual, Taylor would only drive the car slowly forward and backward inside his barn, as he was afraid to drive the motor carriage on the road, for fear of hurting someone or scaring horses. Pioneer Doctor W.E. Upjohn, founder of Upjohn Pharmaceuticals and stepfather of Museum founder Donald Gilmore, visited Mr. Taylor and offered to drive the car. After taking several trips around the yard he offered to buy it, which he did, making it the first new and used car in Kalamazoo. Today, only 7 of these automobiles are known to exist.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 13:25:11 +0000
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