When Horatio Nelson Jackson packed for the first road trip across the United States, a trip that started in San Francisco on May 23, 1903, and ended up 63 days later in New York City, he didn’t pack a cooler and money for tolls. Instead, Jackson, who was accompanied by his chauffeur Sewall K. Crocker loaded a 1903 Winston with sleeping bags, blankets, tools such as an axe and shovel, a Kodak camera, both a rifle and a shotgun, spare automotive parts, rubber suits and coats, and as many cans of oil and gas as would fit in the open touring car.
It was all part of a bet. Jackson, a doctor from Burlington, Vermont, wagered $50 (about $4,358.84 today) that he would cross the country in a car, something that had never been done before. The trip ended up costing $8,000 (approximately $3,563.05 in today’s money) and used 800 gallons of gas.
Jackson paid for the entire trip and none of it was offset by the $50 wager as it was never paid. As a plus, Jackson and Crocket acquired a pitbull named Buddy in Idaho who accompanied them for the rest of the trip.
Cars back then (often referred to as machines) weren’t totally unheard of, but road trips were very unique back then. First of all, there weren’t many petrol stations Second of all, roadside motels didn’t exist when the Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo, California opened. It was the first “motel” in the world. But that didn’t happen until 23 years later in 1925.
Ten years before that, the first auto camp opened in Douglas, Arizona. But that didn’t help out Jackson and Crocket. Their choices were hotels that could be found in cities and towns but when there was nothing but long stretches of road, the options were to pull to the side of the road and sleep in your car or knock on a farmer’s door and for a small fee, park in a field and get a home cooked breakfast the next morning. 1913 was also the first time that the number of automobiles in the nation reached one million. As of February 1923, there were 275,913,237 motor vehicles in the U.S.
In 1903, there were about 8,000 cars but only 150 miles of paved roads. Hence the rubber suits—traveling was either dusty or muddy. Goggles were necessary, even Buddy wore a set. It was such an adventure and so unique, that news reporters followed them or were on-hand when they entered a town.
Fast Forward three decades
By the time the first Airstream in the 1930s was manufactured, road trips were much more comfy. But Airstream kicked up several notches. An invention by Wally Byam who first concocted the idea of a travel trailer in the 1920s when he erected a tent over the chassis of a car. If that doesn’t sound like a fun experience, you’re right. And so Wally went back to the drawing board. By 1931, he had opened a trailer manufacturing plant in Culver City, California. At the time, Wally’s trailer company was one of only 50 in the U.S. By 1937, there were approximately 400. Today only Airstream remains.
For those tracing the company’s history—as well as the history of road travel in America—there is now a landmark addition to the vintage collection on display at the Airstream Heritage Center in Jackson Center, Ohio.
“It’s believed to be the first rounded, riveted aluminum travel trailer produced by Airstream, Clipper #1, that was designed and built by Airstream founder, Wally Byam himself,” says my friend Nate Swick, who is impressed with the iconic style of the Airstream, considered one of the world’s premier recreational vehicles.
Here’s the story according to Nate
That first model was documented extensively in the 1930s in an effort to market the travel trailer to travelers seeking a premium way to see the country. All that changed after World War II. The whereabouts of Clipper #1 became almost mythological. Had it been used in a traveling Mexican circus or had it been sold to Lázaro Cárdenas, then President of Mexico?
Decades went by and then in 2017, the Clipper #1 was discovered in Mexico City. After 40 weeks of restoration, it now is part of the extensive collection at the Airstream Heritage Center, on display between both 1938 and 1941 models. The three are only 12 Clipper models known to still be in existence.
The 750,000-square-foot headquarters, where the travel trailers are manufactured, offers tours as well as designs from the last 90-plus years. Some fun facts to keep in mind while visiting are: it takes 350 hours to build each Airstream travel trailer, using 3,000 rivets and 1,200-square-feet, on average, of aluminum.
Those visiting Jackson Center, population just over a 1,000, consider adding some other stops to your trip. The following are within two hours of the Airstream Heritage Center. airstream.com
Don’t Miss These Other Nearby Destinations
The Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus features exhibits for all ages including the American Museum of Natural History Dinosaur Exhibit, a planetarium, and an exhibit on the Titanic with over 200 artifacts recovered from the wreck and full-scale room recreations. cosi.org/
The National Aviation Heritage Center near Dayton is the world’s largest military aviation museum. You’ll find many rare and one-of-a-kind aircraft and aerospace vehicles on site digging into the history of air and space travel (all the way back to the Wright Brothers). As an added bonus, admission is free. visitnaha.com
The Westcott House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, was built in 1908 and is open for tours. It is one of many historic buildings in the Greater Springfield Region and this year there are 20 tours for those interested in history, historic architecture, and design including walking tours, bicycle tours, and happy hour tours, westcotthouse.org
This article originally appeared in the Northwest Indiana Times.
