1893 Shamrock The First

The Shamrock Automobile was a very early attempt of a horseless carriage equipped with an internal combustion engine. It was built by a pair of stonemason brothers named William Mimna and his brother Charles, who lived north of Chatham, Ontario. Work commenced as early as 1893, predated only by Henry Seth Taylor's Steam Buggy built in Stanstead, Quebec, in the late 1860s.

Although work began on the Shamrock Automobile as early as 1893, initially by William, it took several years before it was completed. Thus, if it is classified by the date construction began, then it is from 1893. If it is classified by its competition date, it is from 1904. The vehicle's official name is Shamrock the First.

The Shamrock used a single-cylinder engine, and in place of a transmission, the small two-person runabout utilized a system of belts and clutches. The vehicle was a rolling testbed, and when its internal combustion engine proved woefully underpowered, it was replaced with a French-built engine, which also failed to deliver adequate performance. By 1910, the runabout had received a steering wheel and pneumatic tires.

Shamrock the First currently resides in the Canadian Transportation Museum and Heritage Village in Kingsville, Ontario.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2025