1902 Stanley Stick-Seat Runabout

Want to see our founder talk about the 1901 Mobile? Check out this video from the official Marshall Steam Museum YouTube channel!

Tom Marshall: 1901 Mobile

General History

In 1899, the Stanley brothers sold their fledgling business and steam car patent to John B. Walker and Amzi L. Barber, but the latter partnership immediately fell apart. Both manufactured vehicles of Stanley design, with Barber launching the Locomobile Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Walker starting the Mobile Company of America in Tarrytown, New York.  In 1902, the Stanley brothers founded the Stanley Motor Carriage Company after having reinvented their own version of a steam car, since they no longer owned the rights to their original patent. Mobile’s manufacturing ended just a few years later, about the same time Locomobile switched to building high-quality gas cars. 

Our Model’s History

Purchased new in 1901 by the Hodgetts family, this Mobile received an aftermarket modification in 1903 that lengthened its wheelbase, added a front seat, and changed the steering from the center to the side. Soon after, Edwin Hodgetts drove with three passengers from Wallingford, Connecticut, to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and back—an astonishing feat for such a delicate machine on the roads of that era.

Alexis I. du Pont purchased the car from Edwin Hodgetts in 1945. He made it operational and gave it a quick cosmetic restoration. After 60 years of care, du Pont sold the car to the Friends of Auburn Heights, which became only the third owner. It is the oldest car in the collection and remains the only one that uses the chain drive of the Stanley company’s earliest design.