Oliver Lippincott and his Locomobile in Yosemite Photo Courtesy of Yosemite Online Library
What a sight it must have been, when two gentlemen perched on the seat of an unexpected and somewhat disconcerting vehicle came barreling down the Wawona Road into Yosemite Valley.
"The first automobile to enter Yosemite was a Locomobile steam car driven by Oliver Lippincott who operated the Art Photo Co. in Los Angeles. Lippincott and his mechanic arrived June 24, 1900 and spent several weeks taking pictures to promote both Yosemite and the Locomobile."—Postcard.org
This brand new Locomobile weighed in at a hefty 850 pounds when fully loaded with gasoline and water to power it. With a top speed of 40 miles per hour, the Locomobile, tiny by today's SUV standards, seems to have had little trouble negotiating Yosemite's roads built for horse-drawn transportation.
"Eventually the locals persuaded Edward Russell, the mechanic, to drive the vehicle up the steep and serpentine Glacier Point Road to the Mountain House hotel. They arrived in the dark after five hours on the road. The next morning according to Lippincott, 'Nothing would do but that the Locomobile must go out on the overhanging rock where only the most fearless and level-headed have ever dared to stand.' With ropes tied to their waists, several men tugged and prodded the little car out on the narrow, jutting slab. Lippincott continues, 'The women buried their heads in their hands, horrified at the sight. I firmly believe that if the machine had gone over, every man of the party would have gone with it. We hung on with tooth and nail while the camera was adjusted. No picture was ever so long in being taken.' "—Postcard.org
By all accounts, the first first venture by automobile into America's treasured Yosemite appears to have been a roaring success. It was the beginning, but for some years to come, the road for auto tourism in Yosemite National Park was a bumpy one, filled with potholes and delays. There is much more to the story.
To be continued . . .
Thanks to Frank Sternad and the San Francisco Bay Area Postcard Collectors Club at Postcard.org for their assistance with this story. Their February 2004 newsletter features Where Only the Fearless Dare to Stand—Yosemite's Overhanging Rock, from which the above quotes were taken. Illustrated with images of vintage postcards depicting heart-stopping antics, the article highlights what is still called the Overhanging Rock.
Background information and details about the Locomobile from Hank Johnson's Ho! For Yo-Semite.
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Early in the parks: A 1901 auto tour of Yosemite
For more info about the park: Yosemite National Park
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