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- Ebersole Family with 1929 Chevrolet Sedan at Tourist Cabin in Saco, Maine, 1929 - During the 1920s, owners of roadside autocamps discovered that motorists would happily pay extra for their own private accommodations. Bare-bones tourist cabins and cottages promised privacy, car parking, quiet, and less expense than a hotel stay. This family parked their Chevrolet next to "home" for the night -- a tourist cabin in Saco, Maine.

- 1929
- Collections - Artifact
Ebersole Family with 1929 Chevrolet Sedan at Tourist Cabin in Saco, Maine, 1929
During the 1920s, owners of roadside autocamps discovered that motorists would happily pay extra for their own private accommodations. Bare-bones tourist cabins and cottages promised privacy, car parking, quiet, and less expense than a hotel stay. This family parked their Chevrolet next to "home" for the night -- a tourist cabin in Saco, Maine.
- Trail Party Leaving El Tovar Hotel. Grand Canyon, Arizona, circa 1905 - Few places seemed more romantic than the American West to tourists at the turn of the 20th century. Many headed westward, seeking the untamed natural beauty and vast open spaces that epitomized opportunity, individuality, and what it meant to be American. Horseback tours on rugged terrain in Arizona's Grand Canyon added a level of excitement to casual sightseeing.

- circa 1905
- Collections - Artifact
Trail Party Leaving El Tovar Hotel. Grand Canyon, Arizona, circa 1905
Few places seemed more romantic than the American West to tourists at the turn of the 20th century. Many headed westward, seeking the untamed natural beauty and vast open spaces that epitomized opportunity, individuality, and what it meant to be American. Horseback tours on rugged terrain in Arizona's Grand Canyon added a level of excitement to casual sightseeing.
- On Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon, Arizona, circa 1905 - Few places seemed more romantic than the American West to tourists at the turn of the 20th century. Many headed westward, seeking the untamed natural beauty and vast open spaces that epitomized opportunity, individuality, and what it meant to be American. Horseback tours on rugged terrain in Arizona's Grand Canyon added a level of excitement to casual sightseeing.

- circa 1905
- Collections - Artifact
On Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon, Arizona, circa 1905
Few places seemed more romantic than the American West to tourists at the turn of the 20th century. Many headed westward, seeking the untamed natural beauty and vast open spaces that epitomized opportunity, individuality, and what it meant to be American. Horseback tours on rugged terrain in Arizona's Grand Canyon added a level of excitement to casual sightseeing.
- Tourist Cabin from Irish Hills Area of Michigan, on Exhibit in Henry Ford Museum, September 2007 - Motorists weary of roughing it in tents found that homey little cabins like this one offered a convenient, economical alternative. By the 1930s, tourist cabins were popping up everywhere. This cabin, once part of a cluster along U.S. Route 12 in Michigan's Irish Hills, featured a double bed, a small potbellied stove for year-round use, and a chamber pot -- a portable commode.

- September 01, 2007
- Collections - Artifact
Tourist Cabin from Irish Hills Area of Michigan, on Exhibit in Henry Ford Museum, September 2007
Motorists weary of roughing it in tents found that homey little cabins like this one offered a convenient, economical alternative. By the 1930s, tourist cabins were popping up everywhere. This cabin, once part of a cluster along U.S. Route 12 in Michigan's Irish Hills, featured a double bed, a small potbellied stove for year-round use, and a chamber pot -- a portable commode.
- Bible, Used in Tourist Cabin, circa 1950 - Gideons International, a distributor of Bibles since 1908, placed this 1953 version in the Lore Mac Cabins. This tourist cabin camp provided accommodations to travelers along U.S. Highway 12 in the Irish Hills area of Michigan. The Henry Ford acquired one of the cabins and furnishings, including this Bible, in 1986.

- circa 1950
- Collections - Artifact
Bible, Used in Tourist Cabin, circa 1950
Gideons International, a distributor of Bibles since 1908, placed this 1953 version in the Lore Mac Cabins. This tourist cabin camp provided accommodations to travelers along U.S. Highway 12 in the Irish Hills area of Michigan. The Henry Ford acquired one of the cabins and furnishings, including this Bible, in 1986.
- Tourists Driving through Mariposa Grove, Yosemite Valley, California, circa 1905 - Paying customers could see some of Yosemite National Park's most famous features from the comfort of a seven-passenger Pierce-Arrow automobile. One highlight of taking this "Horseshoe Route" was a ride through the Wawona Tunnel Tree. The Giant Sequoia in Mariposa Grove was cut as a tourist attraction in 1881.

- circa 1905
- Collections - Artifact
Tourists Driving through Mariposa Grove, Yosemite Valley, California, circa 1905
Paying customers could see some of Yosemite National Park's most famous features from the comfort of a seven-passenger Pierce-Arrow automobile. One highlight of taking this "Horseshoe Route" was a ride through the Wawona Tunnel Tree. The Giant Sequoia in Mariposa Grove was cut as a tourist attraction in 1881.
- Tourist Coach on a Mountain Trail, California, circa 1905 - Vacationing Americans at the turn of the twentieth century often set aside time to simply look at things -- stagecoach sightseeing excursions provided an opportunity to transcend the commonplace realities of life back home. This coaching party surveys a vast mountain range in California.

- circa 1905
- Collections - Artifact
Tourist Coach on a Mountain Trail, California, circa 1905
Vacationing Americans at the turn of the twentieth century often set aside time to simply look at things -- stagecoach sightseeing excursions provided an opportunity to transcend the commonplace realities of life back home. This coaching party surveys a vast mountain range in California.
- Magazine, "Travel," May 1915 - The cover of this May 1915 <em>Travel</em> magazine tempted readers to imagine themselves at Yosemite National Park in California.

- 1915
- Collections - Artifact
Magazine, "Travel," May 1915
The cover of this May 1915 Travel magazine tempted readers to imagine themselves at Yosemite National Park in California.
- Tourist Maps of Yellowstone National Park and Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, 1947 - Yellowstone National Park, established 1872, was America's first national park. After automobiles were allowed in the national parks (Yellowstone in 1915), attendance increased dramatically. The growing popularity of Yellowstone, like other parks, led to improvements in roads, campgrounds, parking lots, supply stations, and restrooms--along with an increase in tourist guides and maps like this one produced by Texaco.

- 1947
- Collections - Artifact
Tourist Maps of Yellowstone National Park and Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, 1947
Yellowstone National Park, established 1872, was America's first national park. After automobiles were allowed in the national parks (Yellowstone in 1915), attendance increased dramatically. The growing popularity of Yellowstone, like other parks, led to improvements in roads, campgrounds, parking lots, supply stations, and restrooms--along with an increase in tourist guides and maps like this one produced by Texaco.
- "Popular Mechanics," July 1935 - <em>Popular Mechanics</em>, first published in 1902, has made information about technology and science understandable to the general public. Do-it-yourself entrepreneurs could learn how to build their own tourist cabins in this July 1935 issue.

- July 01, 1935
- Collections - Artifact
"Popular Mechanics," July 1935
Popular Mechanics, first published in 1902, has made information about technology and science understandable to the general public. Do-it-yourself entrepreneurs could learn how to build their own tourist cabins in this July 1935 issue.