Who had the first car in Fort Worth? Finding the answer isn’t as easy as you might think
The question of who was the “first” person or group to own something always gets murkier the closer you look.
For years, bicycle and jewelry shop owner Henry R. Cromer was credited as owning the first automobile in Fort Worth. A closer reading of the stories shows that he never actually claimed to have the first car (though the headlines said that he did), but rather was the first person to register ownership of his vehicle in 1904.
Who brought the first automobile to Fort Worth (that is, the vehicle just passed through so people could look at it) gets even more confusing. The loudest voice was Montgomery Ward, the mail-order department store. On Feb. 4, 1897, the Fort Worth Record and Register headlined an article Horseless Carriage: The First Ever Seen in Fort Worth – Enthusiastic Reception.
J. Frank Pickering, the national advertising manager for Montgomery Ward, brought the vehicle to Fort Worth and took the newspaper’s editorial staff on a short ride around town – guaranteeing press coverage. The four-horsepower motor was electric, with twenty-eight batteries to store power. The vehicle could carry four people at a top speed of 15 mph.
Other claims are murkier. Col. Hendricks is said to have ferried guests home from an 1897 Labor Day picnic in a horseless carriage. Automobile dealer Walter Beck remembered the first car he saw in Fort Worth as a 1900 Oldsmobile driven by the well-known vaudeville artist Lew Dockstader. Nonetheless, both made enough of an impression to be recorded at least once.
Perhaps a letter hidden in a family collection has more details.
Henry R. Cromer bought his one-cylinder, seven-horsepower 1902 Model E Rambler directly from the factory, as few dealerships existed at the time. He proudly recounted an early three-day journey through six counties. Cromer left Fort Worth on a Sunday morning, drove to Dallas, went up through Collin and Denton counties, and then swung back through Dallas to Ellis and Navarro counties before returning to Fort Worth on Tuesday night.
That trip would probably take half a day, at most, today unless the driver was caught in a really bad traffic jam. Cromer’s trip from San Angelo to Abilene used 5 gallons of gas to cover what was then a 110-mile ride.
Another notable Fort Worth automobile was Electra Waggoner Wharton’s 1904 four-horsepower electric car. Although said to be the first electric vehicle in the city, it definitely was not. That honor went to the 1897 Montgomery Ward horseless carriage.
Described as “dainty,” Mrs. Wharton’s red and black vehicle could travel for 30 miles on one charge. She was said to be seen almost every day, “whizzing noiselessly along the streets of the city.” Horses working on the streets probably appreciated the quiet electric motor.
Cromer did get in line to be first at something that involved his Rambler. In 1904, the City of Fort Worth decided to register automobiles. Cromer waited for several hours, trading places with a friend who wanted a specific registration number more than he wanted the first one.
That #1 certificate gave Cromer bragging rights for many years. After the city closed its registration process on the first day, a group of about 20 vehicle owners (including Cromer, Marshall Sanguinet, A. B. Wharton, and Lloyd Pollock) made a celebratory run to Arlington Heights and back.
Fort Worth citizens can still tell a tall tale or make a good time out of almost anything. These stories are as true as those who told them remembered.
Carol Roark is an archivist, historian, and author with a special interest in architectural and photographic history who has written several books on Fort Worth history.
