Autos arrived in early Boise with much fanfare, but success on trips was mixed

“Boise now has the auto craze,” declared the Idaho Statesman on Aug. 4, 1907. By that time there were at least two dozen cars in town, and new ones were arriving regularly. The question naturally arises, “Who had the first automobile in Boise?”

The Statesman’s later competitor, the Boise Capital News, tried to answer that question in July 1940, and was of the opinion that a Mr. Truesdale had a two-cylinder Loomis auto in Boise in 1901; and that in 1902, James Taylor had a one-cylinder Oldsmobile, J.T. Proper had a one-cylinder Glide and Harry Woodburn had a one-cylinder Orient Buckboard.

The arrival in town of another car in those days was news. In March 1903: “New Automobile. J.B. Taylor, the cyclist, received a new automobile yesterday from the factory. The new vehicle, when in commission, will add to the metropolitan appearance of the streets of the city.”

In that world of horse-drawn vehicles, the animals had to get used to the new set of noises. In January 1904, “Scared by Auto.” A horse “floundered about in terror” for several minutes, eventually falling on the sidewalk. Happily, no injury was done to the animal.

Owners of those early automobiles were eager to try them out on trips to nearby towns. The Statesman reported on Aug. 2, 1907, that the first automobile to reach Silver City had arrived there “late last night.” The first auto to reach Horseshoe Bend reached there in December 1907. It was Hi Henry’s White Steamer, driven by George F. Reim. The purpose of the trip was to investigate mining property at Pearl. The trip back to Boise took an hour and twenty minutes, “the car behaving so well that at no time were they compelled to stop, adjust, or do anything to the machine.”

Three young men taking a moonlight “joy ride” from Boise City to Kelly Hot Springs escaped with only slight injuries when they were forced to jump from their speeding car as it went over an embankment. “The machine was a new one owned by Mr. Dufresne and was more in the shape of kindling wood and scrap iron yesterday than a buzz wagon.”

“Auto’s Quick Trip from Idaho City” was the headline on June 2, 1908. “On his return trip from Idaho City yesterday morning Harry Falk made a remarkable record with his Buick machine, coming from Idaho City to his home on Main and First streets, a distance of 38 miles, in two hours and forty minutes.” This accomplishment was considered a challenge by J.E. Clinton, a cashier at the Boise City National Bank, who made the trip in two hours and twenty minutes. His 35-horsepower Duryea was considered the “highest powered machine in the city.”

A number of other local auto men had attempted the trip to Idaho City, but rarely had any made the trip without some sort of breakdown.

In May 1909, Idaho nearly lost Gov. James H. Brady when a front wheel of the big Winton car in which he and his party were riding went off the edge of a precipice, then hit a rock that bounced it back onto the road.

It would be many years before road conditions in Idaho were improved enough for automobile traffic to be reasonably safe.

This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Autos arrived in early Boise with much fanfare, but success on trips was mixed."