Duryea Motor Wagon Company

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Duryea automobile

The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, established in 1895, was the first American firm to build gasoline automobiles.

Founded by Charles Duryea and his brother Frank, they built a one-cylinder "Ladies Phaeton", first demonstrated on September 21, 1893 at Springfield, Massachusetts. According to the Springfield newspaper, it was driven from a barn at 52 Spruce St. down to Florence St.

It is considered the first successful gas-engine vehicle built in the U.S. In 1895, a second Duryea (built in 1894),^[1] driven by Frank, won the Chicago Times Herald race in Chicago on a snowy Thanksgiving day. He travelled 54 miles (87km) at an average 7.5 mph (12 km/h), marking the first U.S. auto race in which any entrants finished. That same year, the brothers began production, with thirteen cars sold by the end of 1896.^[2]

An early Duryea advertisement explains to incredulous readers that the vehicle "actually operated under its own propulsion." The brothers went their separate ways by the end of the century. Frank helped produce the Stevens-Duryea (at gun maker Stevens), while Charles produced Duryea vehicles as late as 1917.

Although Charles did discuss with his brother the building of the first American automobile, Frank was the actual builder. He did correspond with his brother Charles regarding what did and did not work in the design. Charles left Springfield in 1892 before construction began. This was documented in the Selden Patent trial transcripts of testimony by Charles. Most of what Charles designed did not work and had to be redesigned by his brother during construction. Until Charles died in 1938 he tried to take credit away from his brother as the builder of the first American automobile. Charles' family, led by his son Merle, continued this crusade for many years to follow.