By Deb Sanders
Last month, Fast Lane Classic Cars in North St. Charles hosted a free community lecture featuring local historian Tom Eyssell, co-author of “They Will Run: The Golden Age of the Automobile in St. Louis” (co-authored with Molly Butterworth). Timed alongside the centennial milestone of Route 66, the presentation offered a captivating look into our region's rich automotive history.
In his talk, Eyssell detailed how St. Louis became the nation's premier auto hub by 1909, second only to Detroit in car production, but first in the nation to boast a dedicated gasoline station and auto supply house. Several key factors drove this growth:
- Ideal Shipping Location: St. Louis coined the phrase "Ship from the hub, not the rim," relying on its powerful riverboat networks and robust rail system.
- Skilled Labor: Dozens of local wagon builders, powered by skilled German immigrant artisans, easily pivoted into auto manufacturing.
- Paved Road Network: A late-1800s cycling craze led local politicians to build more miles of paved roads than almost any other city of similar size.
Local innovation started early. In 1893, years before Henry Ford's iconic Model T, the first self-propelled vehicle built in St. Louis hit the roads running on battery power. By 1898, the St. Louis Motor Carriage Co. opened, alongside the nation's very first mail-order auto supply business.
Eyssell shared colorful local lore, including the August 1901 cross-country endurance drive from St. Louis to New York City by Oscar Lawrence Halsey and John D. Perry Lewis, early associates in the emerging St. Louis automotive scene. Navigating primitive dirt roads across Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, the pair made it to NYC and made national headlines before ultimately shipping the car home by train.
He also recounted how Babe Ruth smashed a home run through the window of the Russell E. Gardner Motor Co. during the 1926 World Series. A mishap the company cleverly turned into an advertising campaign.
Paving the Way: From Mother Road to Interstate
St. Louis holds a legendary spot along U.S. Route 66, which originally connected Chicago to Santa Monica, California. As car travel evolved, Interstate 44 began upgrading or bypassing the old "Mother Road" starting in the mid-1950s, a movement that eventually led to Route 66's official decommissioning in 1985. Missouri played a pioneering role in this highway boom: In August 1956, it became the very first state in the country to award interstate construction contracts, funding sections of I-70 right here in St. Charles County.
Including a nod to our local automobile enthusiasts, David and Laura Williams, who founded Fast Lane Classic Cars in St. Charles, you will find many interesting facts and wonderful stories in “They Will Run”. Copies are on sale in their gift shop. While you are there, check out all the nostalgia and vintage treasures throughout Fast Lane, including an antique calliope and player piano located in the event space above the gift shop.
Thomas Eyssell started as an auto mechanic in the early 1970s before taking a detour to teach at UMSL for 40 years. Despite his academic duties, he never lost his passion for the classic cars of his youth, which eventually grew into an interest in automobile history.