America's First Car

In a rather underwhelming alley in downtown Kokomo, Indiana, sits the 1894 Pioneer, heralded as “America's First Car.” But was it really?

Elwood Haynes, an Indiana inventor responsible for creating the stellite alloy, stainless steel, and the thermostat, may or may not have been the first to produce America’s first car.

On Independence Day in 1894, Haynes took his car for a spin around the Kokomo area. Reports say he reached speeds of 6–7 miles per hour on the six-mile drive. History was made—or so it seemed. In Massachusetts, two brothers, Charles and Frank Duryea, had their car on the road in September 1893 and are widely regarded as having invented America’s first car.

The Haynes-Apperson Company later marketed their vehicles with the slogan “America’s First Car,” based on Haynes’ early plans for a horseless carriage. Haynes drew blueprints in 1892 and gave them to Elmer and Edgar Apperson, two local machinists, who then built the vehicle. So, the Pioneer was not the first car on the road in America, but it may have been the first to be designed.

Also in Artist Alley, surrounding the car, are paintings by local artists.