In February 1855, a deep-toned bell was installed in the new Courthouse.
The July 1855 ordinance passed, dividing the City into six fire districts. An alarm-sounding code was initiated:
Mr. Holden, from the Committee on Fire and Water, made a report in regard to a system of Fire Alarms. The South, West and North Divisions are numbered 1, 2, and 3. The city is divided into 6 districts.
One tap, followed by nine more taps, calls the firemen to district № 1.
Three taps, followed by nine other taps, calls them to district № 3.
Six taps, followed by nine other taps, calls them to district № 6.
Six strokes of the bell calls out that part of the fire department which is located in the district in which the fire breaks out, thus:
One tap followed by six others, Division № 1 to District № 1.
2-6, calls Division № 1 to District № 2.
3-6, calls Division № 2 to District № 3.
4-6, calls Division № 2 to District № 4.
5-6, calls Division № 3 to District № 5.
6-6, calls Division № 3 to District № 6.
The Courthouse bell is also to designate the hours of 7, 12, 1, 6, and 9 o'clock by two taps an indefinite number of times.
The report was laid on the table and ordered to be printed.
A watchman was continually on duty in the tower. Besides ringing the bell, the watchman was responsible for handing out flags by day and lanterns by night, used to direct firefighters to the fire scene. There was no gas in those days, so torch boys ran ahead of the engine to light the way. When an alarm was rung at night, citizens were responsible for placing lighted candles in their windows, lighting the way for the firefighters.
The "Long John" steam fire engine tested in February 1858 was met with hostility from the volunteer firemen. The volunteers could sense this was the beginning of their extinction. The steam engine "Long John" was put into service on May 1, 1858, at the corner of Adams and Franklin Street.
This Daguerreotype photograph was taken on July 4, 1855. The third floor and dome were not added to the Courthouse until 1858. The basement was above ground.
Firefighters of the volunteer hose companies and two paid members, the engineer and assistant engineer, manned the "Long John." The death knell of the volunteer fire department was rung on August 2, 1858, when the city council passed the ordinance organizing the paid City of Chicago Fire Department. The first completely paid company was Engine Company № 3, located at 225 South Michigan Boulevard. This company was one of fifteen engines and three hook and ladder companies acquired from the volunteer department.
At half-past one o'clock on Monday morning, a fire broke out in a saloon occupied by Andrew H. Young at the corner of Washington and Market Streets, being part of a house owned by Michael Casey, and kept as a boarding house by Mr. Young.
This illustration is a visual aid.
The fire spread with great rapidity, and the building, with most of its contents, was destroyed. Most of the boarders escaped in their night clothes, and few of them saved anything more than they could lay their hands on in an instant. We have been informed that the house was partly insured, but we understand that Mr. Young's loss in furniture, etc., will not be less than $1,000 ($35,000 today), with no insurance.
The usual promptitude in sounding a fire alarm characterized this fire. Had there been a lookout on the Court House steeple, the fire would have been seen when it first broke out. An alarm could have been struck directing the firemen to proceed westward from the Court House, which would, in a very few minutes, have assembled the entire force of the department and saved at least half the destruction that followed. As it was, the fire rages for nearly half an hour before the city alarm bell sounded, and then it gave forth such an "uncertain sound" that if the blaze of the conflagration had not lit up the sky, the firemen would not have known in what direction to run.
We have spoken so often of the imperative necessity of immediate attention to the subject of fire alarms that we are tired of it. We presume that nothing will be done until some of our most valuable blocks of buildings are laid in ruins, and then we shall have a fire alarm.
At half past eight o'clock in the morning, a fire broke out in the two-story frame dwelling, on River Street (Wabash Avenue today), opposite the Lighthouse, owned by H. Fuller, Esq., and occupied by Mrs. Jenkins.
The First Lighthouse was built in 1832. The Lake House Hotel is on the Right.
The damage was confined to the roof, and the loss was estimated at about $500 ($17,600 today). There was no insurance. The fire originated from a defect in the stove pipe.
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The first lighthouse at the mouth of the Chicago River was built in 1832, but it fell over when it reached a height of fifty feet. It was rebuilt at River Street (Wabash Avenue). A pier and a new lighthouse became operational in 1859. The pier was extended, and a new lighthouse was built in 1869. A fog bell/horn was added in 1881. Another new lighthouse on the pier was operational in 1885.
A Pier and a New Lighthouse Was Built In 1859. Picture Date Unknown.
About half past eight o'clock in the evening, a fire broke out in the large furniture and picture frame manufactory of Ferrie & Boro on the corner of Van Buren and Wells Streets.
This photo is a visual aid.
In an incredibly short time, the whole of the extensive building was wrapped in flames, and with most of its contents became prey to the devouring element. The wind, though not high, blew with some violence, and four or five small dwelling houses in the vicinity soon caught fire and were consumed.
The night was bitterly cold, and the noble exertions of the firemen are deserving of high praise. It is not known how the fire originated. Mr. Boyd was in the building at 6 o'clock, and all then seemed safe. There was a painful rumor prevalent during the fire that four men had perished in the flames, but we cannot find sufficient grounds for placing the least reliance on it.
About half past five o'clock this morning, a fire broke out in a small building in the rear of J.H. Reed & Company's Drug Store, used for the storage of matches, ether, phosphorus, etc.
This photograph is a visual aid.
A young man in the establishment, discovering the smoke at the back door, immediately gave the alarm and, rushing out, burst open the door and dashed in a few pails of water—all that he found at hand, hoping to prevent a general conflagration, caught up a large bottle of ether, which exploded while he was removing it, covering him with flames, though fortunately not injuring him seriously. He then closed the door for the purpose of smothering the fire, while "ever and anon" (now and then; occasionally) a bottle of ether would explode and burst open the entrance in spite of all endeavors to keep it shut.
Engine Company № 1 was on hand very soon after the alarm and, by dint (as a result of) submerging the entire building, succeeded in arresting the fire. However, for some time after, the phosphorus grumbled and sputtered and smoked under the water as though loth to give up the business it had so successfully begun. The cause of the fire was the bursting of a bottle of phosphorus which being usually kept in water, ignited spontaneously in the open air; the loss was not very heavy, being covered entirely by insurance. We are happy to be able to state that the young man so summarily baptized with burning ether was not dangerously injured. He professes no great anxiety to repeat the experiment.
The alarm of a fire about 4 o'clock on Saturday morning was caused by the burning of the Eagle Hotel, a three-story frame building. on State Street between Taylor and Polk Streets. A barn immediately adjoining was also destroyed. The two buildings were owned by Mr. John Raber, and occupied by H.A. Caswell, as a Dutch boarding house. The hotel was insured for $800 ($29,000 today) and $250 ($9,000 today) on the barn. The furniture was mostly saved, though in a damaged state. A two-story frame building adjoining on the south, and used for a grocery, was considerably burned about the roof.
The fire caught from the chimney in the kitchen and was first discovered by a watchman, who aroused the guests. But for the difficulty in getting water, the fire might have been stopped. As was the case at the burning of a dwelling in the North Division last Tuesday morning, the hydrant proved entirely useless, and the firemen were obliged to obtain water from other sources. Unless the hydrants can be of some service in cases of fire, they may as well be removed for all the good they have shown themselves capable of doing thus far.
At 9½ o'clock on Sunday forenoon, smoke was seen issuing from the one-story brick building attached to the Works of the American Car Company and occupied by the Brass and Iron Foundry, Blacksmith, Cleaning and Moulding Shops.
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In the 1850s, Chicago was home to several large railroad car makers, including the American Car Company, the Eagle Works, and the Union Car Works, which each employed about 300 men. The American Car Company of Chicago had begun building passenger cars, freight cars, and baggage cars in November 1852. It carried on an extensive manufacture of railroad cars in 1853/54. The company was located on the Lake Shore at the foot of Rio Grande Street (26th Street today). The section surrounding the American Car Company works became thickly settled and was a village known as “Carville,” which was annexed by Chicago on February 12, 1853, the second extension of Chicago's city limits (green sections).
The fire is supposed to have been taken from a stove in which a fire had been kindled an hour previously. The flames spread to all parts of the building, and it was only through the utmost exertions of the immediate neighborhood. Several of our active citizens gathered together on the alarm being given that the extensive machine shop (a wooden structure) was saved.
The interior of the Foundry, and the West wing of the building, occupied as a Blacksmith Shop, was all burned on the inside, and the roofs fell in; but the brick walls were saved and can probably be used in rebuilding. The East wing, occupied as a Moulding Shop, was entirely destroyed—being a frame structure.
Bucket Brigade. This illustration is a visual aid.
Through the untiring exertions of those assembled on the ground, the flames were confined to one building, although they had nothing but buckets of water with which to fight the fire. After the engines had arrived on the spot, there was a serious difficulty in procuring water, and № 7 was fed by lines of men passing pails of water from the cisterns [1].
The entire loss is probably about $5,000 ($182,000 today)—but the damages to the Company in having their Works kept inactive will be much greater than the amount of property destroyed. About 150 workmen will be thrown out of employment by this conflagration. However, the energy of the Company will doubtless have the building reconstructed and at work again in about four weeks. most of the workmen saved their tools, but about all of the patterns, etc., were destroyed. There were fortunately, no cars injured.
This fire will be a serious inconvenience to many of the Railroads in the vicinity, who were relying on the American Car Works for their running material, It was fortunate that the conflagration was not more disastrous. Insured for $3,500 ($141,000 today).
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
[1] A cistern is an artificial reservoir or tank for storing liquids, especially water. Cisterns are typically buried tanks made of brick or metal that are designed to capture and store rainwater. Cisterns can range in capacity from 100 gallons to several thousand gallons.
A fire broke out at 7 o'clock Friday morning in the Distillery owned and occupied by M.L. Keith, on the North Side, by McCormick's Factory [1]. The building was entirely consumed, also about 700 bushels of corn and other grains valued at $1,000. Loss in the vicinity of $7,000 ($278,000 today)—insured for $3,000 ($119K) at the North Western Company of Oswego, New York. How the fire originated is not known. Several of the men had been at work and left for breakfast, and others were arriving when the flames broke out.
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
[1] The McCormick Reaper Factory was located at 22-24 West Kinzie Street, Chicago. It was on the north bank of the Chicago River.
McCormick Works, Chicago, 1867. Looking North from the Chicago River.
The factory was built in 1847 by Cyrus McCormick, who invented the reaper, a horse-drawn machine that revolutionized the harvesting of wheat. The factory was one of the first industrial buildings in Chicago, and it helped to make the city a major center for manufacturing. The McCormick Factory was located in an area that was then known as the North Side Manufacturing District. This district was home to a number of other factories, including the Fairbanks, Morse & Company machine shop, the Western Union telegraph office, and the Chicago Gas Light Company. The North Side Manufacturing District was a major center for innovation and economic growth in the 19th century. The McCormick Factory was demolished in 1906.
Between 12 and 1 o'clock Monday night, a fire broke out in an untenanted building on Ferry Street (Kingsbury Street), 5th Ward, and soon extended north and south among a cluster of wooden tenements. The fire burnt with much fury and, but for the efforts of the Fire Department, would have done extensive mischief. As it was, the frame buildings, numbers 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20, Ferry Street, were all more or less damaged, and three of them pretty much destroyed. The building in which the fire originated belonged to George Brandt and was consumed—no insurance.
The next building belonged to Peter Holler—this too was destroyed, though the furniture, etc., were mostly saved—insurance $400. The next building belonged to the Messieur (Gentlemen) Elmore and was occupied by J.M. Smith, a member of Engin Company № 5. His furniture was nearly all saved, but the house was pretty much used up—insured for $200. North of Brandt's building, a frame house owned by Mrs. McFayden, was nearly burnt down—not insured: and the grocery of Phillip Badey was considerably damaged. Loss by fire and water $200—no insurance.
The alarm of fire at 7 o'clock proceeded from a large three-story brick building on West Water Street, owned and occupied by P.W. Gates & Co., as a Car and Machine Shop. The fire caught in a fuel pen adjoining the engine spread rapidly to all parts of the building. The walls were left standing, but the roof and floors fell in, and the interior was totally destroyed. The woodwork for 60 cars was all ready for use but is a total loss. The full extent of the damages is about $15K. No insurance.
The alarm of fire at 11 o'clock was caused by the burning of three small sheds in an alley in the rear of J.C. Outhet's Wagon Shop on Franklin Street. There was almost $500 ($20K today) worth of smoked meat in one of the sheds, and the whole loss is about $1,600 ($63,500 today). The fire was the work of an incendiary. The premises adjoining were fired a few nights since but were extinguished without alarm. Several persons about town are watching their stores and dwellings, knowing incendiaries to be lurking about. It is for the safety of every individual to keep a strict lookout.
The forenoon fire consumed the barn of Mr. Penny, between Madison and Washington Streets, on the West Side; it being four or five blocks from the river, so the water was got in time to do any good, giving another illustration of the necessity of our new water works being finished as soon as possible. There was one horse burned belonging to a countryman. The fire was supposed to be occasioned by boys using firecrackers.
1853, June 21st, Fire Crackers.
For several weeks before the Fourth of July, Chicago communities are annoyed, more or less, by the firing in the public streets of squibs and crackers. The practice is becoming a serious nuisance and should be promptly corrected by our authorities. It is quite enough to have to endure hist source of disturbance of the quiet of the city during one day a year, and, as the festive spirit of our national anniversary gives to the evil the most unlimited license, the privilege should be confined strictly to that occasion. Besides the disagreeable din from which every citizen suffers, life and property are endangered by the liability of horses to become frightened by the explosion of torpedoes and crackers in our thoroughfares and the ease with which a serious conflagration may be caused by the fire that is carelessly thrown in every direction. It is to be hoped that this matter will receive the attention of Charles McNeill Gray, the Mayor of Chicago.
The alarm of Fire was occasioned by the burning of the premises belonging to Mr. Winbolt, an Upholsterer, at Randolph Street, situated on the alley between Clark and Dearborn Streets. A large quantity of hair and material for mattress making was consumed—no fire had been near the place all day, and it must have been set on fire by an incendiary [device].
On Thursday night, between 10 and 11 o'clock, the city was aroused by the cry of fire, which proved to be occasioned by the burning of a stable belonging to Mr. Sheriff Bradley, situated in the alley [in the] back of Madison Street. A quantity of hay in the building was immediately consumed and set fire to the Cabinet Shop of Mr. T. Manaham, which was severely damaged before the firemen could get the fire under [control]. We understand Mr. Manaham was insured.
A Destructive Fire on Wednesday, February 16 night, at about twelve o'clock, the United States Hotel building on the corner of West Randolph and Canal Streets, took fire and was entirely consumed, together with all the out buildingsNorth on Canal Street, to the extensive Plow and Wagon Factory of A. Pierce, and on the East, all the buildings except two on the corner of Water and Randolph Streets. The fire was first discovered in a small tobacco and cigar shop adjoining the Hotel and had made such headway at the time that the whole block of buildings was in flames before the alarm could be given and the engines got upon the ground. There was a fresh breeze blowing from the West at the time, which swept the flames through the dry wooden tenements with great rapidity.
In the stable and yard of the U.S. Hotel, nine horses—belonging to farmers—were burned, together with a wagon and load of wheat.
The Hotel was owned by the estate of the late John Murphy and the Hon. Hugh T. Dickey and was occupied by Mr. D.L. Roberts. It was one of the oldest public houses in Chicago.
Besides the Hotel, there were three small stores and dwellings east of the Hotel, and beyond the alley, a blacksmith shop totally consumed, and another small house nearly so. A portion of lumber in the back part of the premises was partially consumed.
The clerk of the Hotel had his mouth and throat severely burned by a spark of fire. On several occasions, the firemen experienced narrow escapes—one, especially, caused a general shriek, and was as near as possible, causing the instant death of a man directing the hose.
He was considerably elevated on a ladder in front of the mouse when a large and heavy parapet with a tremendous crash fell directly across him when, however, within a few feet of his head, one end shunted off and just escaped his head. The night was bitter cold, from which the firemen seemed to suffer much. If the wind had blown from the north, nothing could have saved the buildings on the South side of Randolph Street.
The Hotel and buildings were insured for $5,000, which was should think will not be much under the worth of the property. Mr. Roberts was insured for $1,900, and Mr. Davis' fruit and toy store for $500. Most of the furniture was removed.
A deranged woman who had been wandering about the streets, followed by a troop of thoughtless boys and heartless fellows, was confirmed Monday night in the Watch House [1]. As she said, she set fire to it in order to get out. It is a pity, indeed, if there is no more appropriate place in the city for a poor lunatic than a Watch House.
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
[1] A Watch House in 1840s Chicago was a small, wooden building that housed the city's night watchmen. The watchmen patrolled the streets at night to prevent crime and fires. They would also respond to any emergencies that arose.
Early in the evening, the city was generally startled by the cry of fire, and the eastern part was soon illuminated. The first impression was that the Tremont [Hotel] was on fire, but it proved to be two stables on State Street between Water and Lake Streets.
The firemen were quickly on the spot, and the flames were soon extinguished. Three horses were burned. Property loss was slight, as the buildings were small and [in] poor [shape].
The World's First Parliament of Religions was a historic interfaith gathering held in Chicago, Illinois, from September 11 to 27, 1893. It was the first large-scale gathering of representatives from the world's religions, and it helped to promote religious tolerance and understanding.
On the platform of the Parliament of Religions 1893 (left to right), Virchand Gandhi (Jainism), Anagarika Dharmapala (Buddhism), Swami Vivekananda (Hinduism), G. Bonet Maury (Christianity).
The Parliament was organized by the World's Congress Auxiliary to the Columbian Exposition, which was a world's fair held in Chicago to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. The Parliament was held in the Art Institute of Chicago building before the Art Institute moved in, and it featured over 700 delegates from over 20 different religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism.
1893 World's Parliament, World's religions, The Buddhist High Priests of Siam.
The Parliament was a major success, attracting over 750,000 visitors. It helped promote religious tolerance and understanding worldwide. It also helped to inspire the development of new interfaith organizations, such as the Parliament of the World's Religions, which still exists today.
1893 World's Parliament of Religions Dancing Dervishes.
Here are some of the key speakers and events from the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions:
Reverend John Henry Barrows:The general chairman of the Parliament, Barrows was a Unitarian minister who was passionate about promoting religious understanding. He gave the opening address to the Parliament, calling for a "world faith" that would unite all people of all religions.
Swami Vivekananda: A Hindu monk, Vivekananda was one of the most popular speakers at the Parliament. He gave a passionate speech calling for a "harmony of religions" and a "brotherhood of man." His speech was a significant turning point in how Hinduism was perceived in the West.
Muhammad Abduh: An Egyptian scholar and reformer, Abduh was one of the leading voices of Islam in the 19th century. He gave a speech calling for a "reinterpretation" of Islam to make it more relevant to the modern world.
Henry Steel Olcott: A co-founder of the Theosophical Society, Olcott was a leading figure in the study of comparative religion. He gave a speech arguing that all religions are essentially the same and that they all aspire to the same goal.
Bishop Charles Henry Brent: An Episcopal bishop, Brent was one of the most vocal advocates for religious tolerance at the Parliament. He gave a speech calling for a "new world faith" that would unite all people of all religions.
The 1893 World's Parliament of Religions was a landmark event in the history of interfaith dialogue. It helped promote religious tolerance and understanding worldwide. It inspired the development of new interfaith organizations. The Parliament's legacy continues today, encouraging people to work for peace and understanding between religions.
1993 World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago, Illinois.
The 1993 World's Parliament of Religions was a gathering of religious leaders and scholars from around the world, held in Chicago, Illinois, from September 4-10, 1993. It was the second World Parliament of Religions, following the first in 1893. The Parliament's theme was "A Global Ethic: Building a Just and Peaceful World."
Over 8,000 people from over 100 countries attended the 1993 Parliament to celebrate, discuss and explore how religious traditions can work together on the critical issues which confront the world. They represent various religious traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Baha'i. Each area had a series of workshops, panels, and lectures. There were also performances by artists and musicians from different religious traditions.
2023 World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago, Illinois.
The 2023 Parliament of the World's Religions will be held from Monday, August 14, through Friday, August 18, at McCormick Place Lakeside Center in Chicago, Illinois.
The newest twentieth-century game is called automobile polo. The name, however, has already been found too long and has been conveniently abbreviated to "auto polo." An interesting exhibition of auto polo was given last week on the field of the fashionable Dedham Polo Club of Boston. Mr. Joshua Crene Jr., a member of this club and an expert polo player, made a series of polo strokes from his automobile to the amazement of polo enthusiasts. Mr. Crane is a clever all-around athlete and adept at handling an automobile as well as a polo mallet.
The play is executed so quickly that an unpracticed eye has difficulty following it. The nimble little mobile machines used in the game are capable of developing a speed of about forty miles an hour in a few feet and can be brought to a standstill practically within their own lengths.
Auto polo was a dangerous but popular motorsport that originated in the United States in 1911. It was similar to equestrian polo, but instead of horses, players used cars. The sport was played at fairs, exhibitions, and sports venues across the United States and Europe until the late 1920s. Auto polo was dangerous because of the high speeds and the risk of collisions. Players and spectators were often injured or killed, and vehicles were often damaged.
Auto Polo played at Chicago's Comiskey Park on June 5, 6, 7, and 8, 1913.
Almost as soon as automobiles became somewhat practical, people were figuring out dangerous and fun things to do with them.
The earliest automobiles were typically rich folks’ novelties, which may explain why, in 1902, Joshua Crane, Jr., a polo enthusiast active with the Dedham Polo Club of Boston, decided to put on an exhibition polo match wherein Mobile Runabouts replaced horses.
That it might not have been the safest endeavor can be seen from a surviving photograph of the match catching one of the drivers/mallet men doing a header into the ground, about to be run over by his own steed.
Chicago Tribune, Friday, June 5, 1913
Chicago will get its first taste of auto polo on June 5 when a four days series between teams representing Chicago and New York will be started at Comiskey Park. A syndicate of Chicago men is promoting contests. The first game will be played on the afternoon of June 5, followed by another at night, then by others as follows: The afternoon and night of June 6, the night of June 7, and afternoon and night of June 8.
Just exactly how dangerous it was is hard to tell. The risk of injury to both competitors and spectators eventually put an end to the practice in the late 1920s, but a contemporary account says that deaths were rare. It’s clear that some of the danger might have been exaggerated by staged photographs, but broken bones were apparently not uncommon. In some photos, it seems that competitors wore leather football helmets, showing there was at least some concern about safety.
Though Mr. Crane put on the first auto polo match, it was a Topeka, Kansas, Ford dealer who turned it into an organized sport.
Ralph “Pappy” Hankinson saw polo with cars as a way of promoting the sale of the Model T. The first match Hankinson organized took place in an alfalfa field near Wichita on July 20, 1912, with four cars, eight players, and a reported crowd of 5,000 spectators. Each car carried a seat-belted driver and a free-standing mallet man who had to hang on—often unsuccessfully. The ball was the size of a basketball (some accounts say it was, in fact, a basketball), and after learning something about physics and inertia, weights were added to the mallets so they didn’t “backfire” when striking the balls. Stripped-down Model Ts were fitted with crude roll bars to protect the driver and the cars’ radiators. Speeds were not high, never more than 35 mph, but high enough for mayhem.
Auto polo was invented before the radio, let alone television, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Hankinson’s idea quickly caught on. Under the Auto Polo Association, local leagues were founded across the United States, and a large exhibition of the sport was staged in Washington, D.C.’s League Stadium in November 1912.
Hankinson sent exhibition teams to England, Europe, and even the Philippines to promote the sport. In 1913, auto polo became the first motorsport to be featured at the Canadian National Exhibition. Britain’s The Auto magazine was impressed but described it as a “lunatic game” that they hoped would not catch on in the UK.
By the 1920s, New York City and Chicago were hosting daily auto polo matches, with some of the games played at NYC’s famous Madison Square Garden.
Many car racing fans today disavow their interest in crashes, but that was genuinely part of the appeal of auto polo. By the end of the matches, the cars were either severely damaged or completely demolished. Hankinson’s own accounting of damages to the cars used by his British and American auto polo teams in 1924 lists 1,564 broken wheels (most cars used wooden spoked “artillery” wheels), 538 unusable tires, 66 broken axles, 10 cracked engines and 6 completely destroyed cars.
While injuries to competitors were frequent, and even spectators were not infrequently hurt by balls flying into the stands or runaway cars, it appears that economics, not concerns about safety, put an end to auto polo.
According to the book Bain’s New York: The City in News Pictures 1900-1925, as the 1920s wore on, the cost of fixing and replacing the cars became too costly. By then, organized car racing was well established. If that wasn’t dangerous enough, there were board-track motordromes and walls of death. So as dangerous as auto polo must have been, it might have seemed a bit quaint during the Roaring Twenties.
In any case, auto polo was a real thing—loony but real.
Auto Polo—No car but the Model T Ford of the
early 1900s had the forward and reverse speeds
and brakes applied by foot pedals. The throttle was
operated by hand, and it was the transmission
system that made such maneuvers possible.
The Dedham Polo Club first used Mobile Runabouts for their exhibition games in 1902.
1902 Stanley Stick-Seat Runabout.
Unlike equestrian polo, which requires large, open fields that can accommodate up to eight horses at a time, auto polo could be played in smaller, covered arenas during wintertime. This factor greatly increased its popularity in the northern United States. The game was typically played on a field or open area that was a least 300 feet long and 120 feet wide, with 15-foot wide goals positioned at each end of the field. The game was played in two halves (chukkers), and each team had two cars and four men in play on the field at a given time.
The first auto polo cars used by the Dedham Polo Club were unmodified, light steam-powered Mobile Runabouts that seated only one person and cost $650 ($22K today).
As the sport progressed, auto polo cars resembled stripped-down Model T's. Usually, they did not have tops, doors or windshields, with later incarnations sometimes outfitted with primitive rollbars to protect the occupants. Cars typically had a seat-belted driver and a mallet man that held on to the side of the car and would attempt to hit a regulation-sized basketball toward the goal of the opposing team, with the cars reaching a top speed of 40 miles per hour and while making hairpin turns. The mallets were shaped like croquet mallets but had a three-pound head to prevent "backfire" when striking the ball at high speeds.
The following excerpts present Abraham Lincoln's parents and his early home life in an unfavorable light. The stigma which has rested on the President's pioneer father and the exaggerated conditions existing in the early Lincoln home is not in harmony with documentary evidence:
"The old gentleman [Thomas Lincoln] was not only void of energy but dull." Herndon. Lincoln, pg 6.
"No more ignorant boy than Thomas could be found in the back woods." Beveridge. Abraham Lincoln, pg 12.
"The whole house squalid, cheerless, and utterly void of elevating inspiration." Schurz. Abraham Lincoln, pg 12.
"Here was the home, and here were its occupants, all humble, all miserably poor." Holland. Life of Abraham Lincoln, pg 23.
"He [Thomas Lincoln] was no toiler but from all accounts an ignorant, shiftless vagabond." Coleman. The Sad Story of Nancy Hanks, pg 8.
''It was here that Abraham Lincoln was born. The manger at Bethlehem was not a more unlikely birthplace." Sheppard. Abraham Lincoln, pg 8.
"He [Thomas Lincoln] was a shiftless fellow, never succeeding in anything, who could neither read nor write." Stephenson. Lincoln, pg 8.
"Reared in gripping, grinding, pinching penury, and pallid poverty, and the most squalid destitution possible to conceive." Peters. Abraham Lincoln's Religion, pg 3
"Lincoln was born in a degradation very far below respectable poverty in the State of Kentucky and lived in that poverty all his life." Chafin. Lincoln. Man of Sorrows, pg 10.
"In the midst of the most unpromising circumstances that ever witnessed the advent of a boy into the world," Nicolay & Hay. Abraham Lincoln, A History, Vol 1, pg 25.
"Nobody ever accused him [Thomas Lincoln] of building a house or to pretend to do more than a few little odd jobs connected with such an undertaking." Lamon. Life of Lincoln, pg 9.
"The father was called a carpenter but not good at his trade, a shiftless, migratory squatter by invincible tendencies and a very ignorant man." Morse, Abraham Lincoln, Vol 1, pg 10.
"Thomas seems to have been the only member of the family whose character was not respectable. He was an idler, trifling, poor, a hunter, and a rover." Lamon. Life of Lincoln, pg 8.
"In childhood and youth, his [Abraham Lincoln's] intimate associates and putative relatives a gross, illiterate, and superstitious rabble." Cathey. True Genesis of a Wonderful Man, pg 193.
"Thomas Lincoln never prospered like Josiah and Mordecai (biblical) and never seemed to have left the impression of his goodness or of anything else on any man." Charnwood. Abraham Lincoln, pg 4.
"Thomas Lincoln, a poverty-stricken man whom misfortune had seemingly chosen for her own, and whose ambitions were blighted and hope almost dead." Peters. Abraham Lincoln's Religion, pg 3.
"There could hardly be a poorer family than that which now undertook to support its narrow, hopeless life in that dull corner of the earth's teeming surface." Stoddard. Abraham Lincoln, pg 11.
"He [Thomas Lincoln] reached the age of 27 the year of his marriage, a brawny, wandering laborer, a poor white, unlettered and untaught except for the trade of carpenter." Strunsky. Abraham Lincoln, pg 5.
"At the time of his [Thomas Lincoln] birth, twenty-eight years before, his parents—drifting, roaming, people, struggling with poverty—were dwellers in the Virginia mountains." Stephenson. Lincoln, pg 4.
"His [Abraham Lincoln's] father was an ignorant man, amiable enough, but colorlessly negative, without the strength of character and without ambitions worthy of the name." Hill. Lincoln the Lawyer, pg 6.
"Thomas Lincoln and Enlow had a regular set-to fight about the matter in which encounter Lincoln bit off the end of Enlow's nose. Finally, Lincoln, to clear himself, moved to Indiana." Weik. The Real Lincoln, pg 31.
"I never could understand how so great and good a man as old Abe could have descended from such a low breed and entirely worthless vagabond as Thomas Lincoln." Cathey. True Genesis of a Wonderful Man, pg 239.
"Thomas Lincoln was an ignorant, shiftless, worthless, illiterate man . . . he thought it a waste of time for young Abraham to learn to read and write as he could do neither." Chafin. Lincoln, Man of Sorrows, pg 11.
"So pained have some persons been by the necessity of recognizing Thomas Lincoln as the father of the President that they have welcomed a happy escape from this so miserable paternity." Morse. Abraham Lincoln, Vol 1, pg 7.
"But Lincoln rose from a lower depth than any of them. From a stagnant, putrid pool; like the gas which set fire by its own energy and self-combustible nature rises in jets blazing, clear, and bright." Herndon. Herndon's Lincoln, Vol 1, pg 9.
"Born not only in poverty, but surrounded by want and suffering; favored in nothing; wanting in everything which makes up the joys of life . . . it was literal truth that 'he had nowhere to lay a head.' " Cathey. True Genesis of a Wonderful Man, pg 255.
"The domestic surroundings under which the babe [Abraham Lincoln] came into life were wretched in the extreme. . . . Rough, course, low, ignorant, and poverty-stricken surroundings were about the child." Morse. Abraham Lincoln, Vol 1, pg 9.
"In childhood and youth, his [Abraham Lincoln's] place of abode a squalid cabin in a howling wilderness, his meal as an ashen crust, his bed a pile of leaves, his nominal guardian a shiftless and worthless vagabond." Cathey. True Genesis of a Wonderful Man, pg. 193
"His [Abraham Lincoln's] father was a typical 'poor Southern white,' shiftless and improvident, without ambition for himself or his children, constantly looking for a new piece of ground where he might make a living without much work." Schurz. Abraham Lincoln, pg 12.
"Abraham Lincoln came of the most unpromising stock on the continent, 'the poor white trash' of the south. His shiftless father moved from place to place in the western country, failing where everybody else was successful in making a living, and the boy spent the most susceptible years of his life under no discipline but that of degrading poverty." Woodrow Wilson. Division and Reunion, pg 216.
Elucidation
I'm well aware that historical accounts are written by people and can be slanted, so I try my hardest to present fact-based and well-researched articles. In this time period, rumors and innuendos have tainted the truth in "Lincoln" books, thus besmirching future writings.
Read my article debunking Thomas Lincoln being a boorish, poor idiot.
