1903 Winton Two-Cylinder Detachable Tonneau

1903 Winton Touring Car 'Vermont'
In 1903, H. Nelson Jackson and Sewall K. Crocker completed the first motor trip across the United States in this car, which Jackson named for his home state. It is displayed at the National Museum of American History with reproductions of supplies and equipment that the men carried. They often used a block and tackle to pull the car out of mudholes. When the Winton needed repairs, they telegraphed the factory for parts and awaited delivery by railroad. It was donated to the museum by H. Nelson Jackson.

Driving an automobile from coast to coast in 1903 was a difficult and daring achievement. H. Nelson Jackson, a physician and businessman from Burlington, Vermont, captured the nation's attention when he and Sewall K. Crocker, a mechanic, drove from California to New York. Despite mud, washouts, breakdowns, and a lack of roads and bridges in the West, they finished their trip. Two other motoring parties - each anxious to claim the title of first to drive across country - departed while Jackson and Crocker were en route, but could not overtake them.

The trip began after a discussion in a San Francisco men's club as to the feasibility of a transcontinental auto crossing. Jackson decided to give it a try. He purchased a 1903 Winton touring car, named it 'Vermont,' and headed east. Jackson and Crocker followed trails, rivers, mountain passes, alkali flats, and the Union Pacific Railroad across the West. After 63 days on the road, the expedition reached New York. Jackson had spent $8,000 on his trip, including hotel rooms, gasoline, tires, parts, supplies, food, and the cost of the Winton.

In 1903, H. Nelson Jackson, Sewall Crocker, and their dog Bud made the first successful transcontinental automobile trip. They helped prove that long-distance road travel was a real -if expensive and difficult - possibility.