Wayne County Historical Museum

The Wayne County Historical Museum is located in Richmond, IN. Eight different buildings make up the museum and has a large collection which, as they put it, "is a unique repository of Wayne County and Richmond history from early pioneer life through the industrial revolution into modern times." But why Wayne County for a car blog? Well, at one time or another there were 14 different automobiles manufactured in Richmond. And the museum has some prime examples as well as a few other gems on display.

One of the more unique vehicles on display is this 1920 Briggs and Stratton "Flyer." Briggs and Stratton, yeah, those people we all know who make lawn mower engines, purchased the design of a motorized wheel from the Smith Motorwheel Corporation in 1919. The firm only made the car for a couple of years before selling it off to a New Jersey firm who re-dubbed it the Auto Red Bug.

Another famous name on display is this 1939 Crosley. Cincinnati based Powell Crosley, Jr. was a broadcast pioneer who branched out into everything from sports teams to refrigerators to, yes, cars. The cars were all small, inexpensive cars that got tremendous gas mileage. For example, this 580 cc air cooled L Head two cylinder model was reputed to get 60 miles per gallon.

Even better mileage came from this 1921 Detroit Electric Car Company model. As the name implied, this was an electric, battery powered automobile. The company started in 1907 as a carriage manufacturer but by 1920 it was one of a handful of companies making purely electric cars. The car could go about 80 miles between recharges and had a top speed of 20 miles per hour. All this at a cost that rivaled the top Cadillacs of the time.

Another electric car on display is this 1912 two door sedan from Baker Electric. In the early 20th century electrics actually outsold gas powered models but the lengthy recharging times (around 10 hours) limited range (less than 100 miles) and low top speeds prompted more people to begin purchasing the gas powered models.