Sylvester Roper with Steam Carriage
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Artifact Overview
Massachusetts machinist Sylvester Roper built several steam-powered carriages and motorcycles years before automobiles -- as we know them -- appeared. Roper never produced his vehicles commercially. Instead, they were exhibited at circuses and fairs, where crowds marveled at the self-propelled contraptions. Steamboats and steam locomotives were common, but steam-powered carriages were genuine novelties.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Negative (Photograph)
Date Made
1971
Subject Date
1865
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
EI.1929.N.B.81500
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 5 in
Width: 4 in
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Related Artifacts
Artifact1865 Roper Steam Carriage
This vehicle is the oldest surviving American automobile. In the 1860s, a small steam carriage running under its own power -- without horses! -- was so startling that people paid to see it driven. It was a curiosity, not transportation. By the time its inventor, Sylvester Roper, died in 1896, new innovators were transforming horseless carriages from curiosities into practical vehicles.
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Related Content
SetSteam Cars
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Steam powered 19th-century America. Some early car manufacturers used this familiar technology to power their vehicles. The White Company was one of the best. Several well-known Americans purchased White steamers and President Taft included one in the first presidential car fleet. White, unlike other manufacturers of steam cars, shifted to gasoline-powered automobiles. It made its last steamer in 1911.
article1865 Roper Steam Carriage: The Oldest Surviving American Automobile
The 1865 Roper Steam Carriage is the oldest surviving American automobile. Learn more about this fascinating piece of automotive history at The Henry Ford.