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This newspaper page contains 11 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Syracuse Journal
Location
Syracuse, New York, United States of America
Date
Mar 20, 1939
Page
99
A historical look at how the automobile transformed transportation and work in America. The piece traces early horse and carriage use ending as cars rise, noting global and local shifts, including Syracuse's role, the spread of road travel, and how vehicles became everyday mobility for citizens.
A historical survey traces the dream of steam powered wagons from early drawings and prototypes through the late 19th century. It notes figures like Cugnot, Haynes, Morrison, Olds, and Apperson, highlighting Syracuse and Springfield as pivotal sites in the rise of the steam car and the broader shift to horseless mobility.
Benjamin, once a bicycle racer and later a Pioneer auto dealer in Syracuse, inspired a retail and highway boom by turning a budding toy into a car industry. The 1699 model Haynes Fiat and Winton among early vehicles mark his era, with city figures like Louis Witt involved and ties to local real estate growth.
Syracuse emerges as a potential auto manufacturing center with local firms like Franklin and Sharns and various steam and gasoline cars vying for market share. Benjamin plays a key role in retailing Locomobiles and curved dash Oldsmobiles while dealers expand to cover many nearby counties. Early car models include the Winton Waynes and de May, with steam cars fading as gasoline vehicles rise in popularity.
C Arthur Benjamin led as the first to sell cars here amid a 1905 market surge. Buyers paid premiums for prompt orders, with prices from 650 to 3000 dollars. Early dealers included Winton, Crocin, Westes, Morrison, McDonald, Fett, and Birwil, among others, shaping the used car industry and showroom culture in Syracuse.
The first March 1905 auto show drew about 30,000 attendees over four days. Buyers included ML Crouse Klock, Mantisx ton Crouse, and Mayor Thomas Osborne for Auburn. John Maxceil of Oneida attempted a purchase of a Stevens. he received state license number 47, signaling the company’s early operation period.
A garbled account describes visitors including a baron and a duke near Oneida Lake. It claims a Frenchman and his wife traveled with children to a remote area, with legends of tied to a “Frenchmans Jane” and an odd sequence of events involving a tour and possible conflict.
The city saw cars from Haynes to modern models including Paige Graham Paige Chavrolet Saxon Maxwell and more. It notes 1924 Chrysler plants branding and 1926 Syracuse Motor Car Company shifts, plus local dealers like Bill Bex and James Bex and pioneer garages Buell Cronin and Schuyler storage garage among early automotive services.
A fragmented 19th century account describes Dr. Dodd’s hypnotism at the Malcolm Ball near Salina and Washington Streets, then shifts to Syracuse’s early automotive era. It chronicles Ford agents, the Syracuse Motor Car Company, Silverman and Grady, and various car brands and dealers shaping local distribution and sales practices.
The Genesee Motor Car Company led by Harry and George Norris became a major Cadillac dealer after 1914, expanding with new showrooms on Geneset street. They bought young dealers from the bicycle trade, apprenticed in factories, and shifted from Peerless to Cadillac by 1932, staying until closing.
A fragmented remembrance traces the Howlett family’s packing legacy from Pennsylvania to New York via the Erie Canal. It notes cattle drives, early shipper secrets, and the spread of their trade through generations, with references to partners, locations, and enduring family influence.
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