On July 25th, 1904, 16 gleaming automobiles stood waiting, engines growled, and the excitement was contagious. They sat in front of Cornelious Vanderbilt's 5th Avenue New York Mansion. The crowd sang, "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis..." their destination was 1,338 miles away at the Louisana Purchase Exposition, Worlds Fair, St. Louis, Mo.
This was the beginning of the Great Automobile Tour, a haphazard, hilarious trek that would lead these adventurers through mud, chickens, dust, and cows from New York to St Louis.
Come jump in the car with C. W. and George for a wild ride and experience as they test a new and exciting mode of travel on roads barely there—a new era for a budding innocent America.
This story is brought to you by C.W.'s granddaughter, Mary.