Mystery Foto #39 Solved: Louis Chevrolet’s Fatal Crash in the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race
This weekend's Mystery Friday Foto documented a major crash in a Vanderbilt Cup Race.
Mystery Foto questions:
- Identify the Vanderbilt Cup Race in which this race occurred.
1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race
- Who was the driver and mechanician for this race car?
Louis Chevrolet (driver) and Charles Miller (mechanician) drove the #29 Marquette-Buick.
- What caused the crash?
One of the Buick’s wheels became wedged in a rut and snapped the steering mechanism. The car slammed into a parked street car in Hicksville, crashed through a fence, hit a touring car and a tree before landing upside down in front of a farm house. Chevrolet was thrown from the car, wrenching his shoulder. His riding mechanician, Charles Miller, was pinned and died on the spot. The women in the touring car managed to escape injury.
- What was the significance of this accident?
Miller was one of two mechanicians who died in accidents during the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race. These deaths results in the end of the Vanderbilt Cup Races on Long Island.
Comments (9)
Congrats to Greg O., Dick Gorman, Mark Schaier, Tim Ivers, Steve Lucas, Brian McCarthy, Art Kleiner (see Kleiner's Korner) and Frank Femenias for identifying Louis Chevrolet's Marquette-Buick.
Kudos to Art Kleiner for identifying the location of the crash at Bach's corner (Old Country Road and Duffy Avenue) in Hicksville.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
Close-Up
The #29 Marquette-Buick during the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race
Images of the Accident
Courtesy of the John E. Roosevelt Family Album
Touring Car hit by Chevrolet. Courtesy of the Helck Faimily Collection.
Kleiner's Korner (Submitted by Art Kleiner)
New York Times, October 1, 1910
The Long-Islander, October 7, 1910
The Sun, October 2, 1910
The Sun, October 2, 1910
1906 map
1914 map
1926 aerial
1927 map
1950 aerial
1950 aerial close-up
Current aerial
Current view of the accident crash site.
Hammond's Highlights (Submitted by Gary Hammond)
The photos you posted concerning Louis Chevrolet's Fatal Accident reminded me of a postcard I own. I assume this card is "rare" (at least I've never seen another one in the 29 years I've owned it), and although not as "pretty" as many of the other LIMP/Vanderbilt Cup Race cards it has always held a special interest to me.
The one aspect it tells us that the other photos didn't is the exact location of the accident - in front of the Bach family home, on Old Country Road, on the Hicksville/Westbury line. I have never before seen this mentioned, so I assume this is "new" information. The Bach family property stood on the NE corner of Duffy Avenue and Old Country Road. It is shown on both the 1906 & 1914 E. Belcher Hyde Atlas of Nassau County as being just on the eastern side of the line separating the Town of North Hempstead from Oyster Bay Town (usually partially obscured by the heavy, colored boundary line).
Why my interest, besides the Vanderbilt cup connection? It's because of the Bach Family - my postcard and the 2 photos show the accident in front of the easternmost section of the house, however just to the west of the house, on the corner of Duffy Ave. (now a gas station & entrance to the northbound Wantagh Pkwy) stood the Blacksmith shop of William Bach. It stood there until 1960 when it was disassembled and put into storage for eventual reassembly as part of a planned transportation exhibit next to the LIRR loco # 35 at Salisbury Park outside the Nassau County Historical Museum. Of course this never happened, but instead it was restored in 1969 as the blacksmith shop at Old Bethpage Village Restoration. Restored to its original 1875 appearance, with much of its original tools, and forge, and showing years of use in making & repairing tools, horse-drawn vehicles and farm equipment for the local community. I spent many an hour in this shop interpreting and demonstrating blacksmithing, and learning the art of blacksmithing from many talented blacksmiths.
The photo for my postcard must have been taken a little bit after the 2 Roosevelt photos, as a sign has been added in front of the wreck stating "KEEP OUT", and only one person stands out in front, with another standing just inside the screen door. The card itself was mailed 9 months later in July 1911!
Overall view of my postcard
Close-up view of my postcard
The Bach home, dated August 22, 1896 (sorry but the original is faded, and this is a third(?) generation copy
The Wm. Bach Blacksmith Shop with board fence, also dated August 22, 1896, notice the beginning of the home's picket fence on the far right
A head on view of the Bach BSS, c.1910 - the portion from the open doors to the left was the earlier section which was removed and restored at OBVR. The right section was added in the 1880's as a wheelwright shop by the Bach's.
Comments
-Identify the Vanderbilt Cup Race in which this race occurred.
1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race
-Who was the driver and mechanician for this race car?
Louis Chevrolet #29 Marquette-Buick w/mechanician Charles Miller
-What caused the crash?
From VCR.com:
one of the Buick’s wheels became wedged in a rut and snapped the steering mechanism. The car slammed into a parked street car in Hicksville, crashed through a fence and into a tree before landing upside down in front of a farm house. Chevrolet was thrown from the car, wrenching his shoulder. His riding mechanician, Charles Miller, was pinned and died on the spot.
-What was the significance of this accident?
This fatal crash helped to place an end to the Vanderbilt Cup Races on Long Island.
Mystery Foto #39… This crash scene happened at the 1910 Vanderbilt cup race. The driver was Louis Chevrolet and mechanician was Charles Miller aboard this Marquette Buick racer.
The crash was the result of one of the wheels of the car getting wedged in a rut, causing the steering mechanism to snap. The car then slammed into a parked street car, went through a fence and into a tree before landing upside down.
Charles Miller died as a result of his injuries.
Other deaths and injuries in this race put an end to road racing on Long Island.
The photo is from Howard’s book ‘VANDERBILT CUP RACES OF LONG ISLAND’, The 1910 race, page 121, Louis Chevrolet’s Marquette-Buick on lap 16 was wrecked near the front porch of a Hicksville home on Old Country Road.
I’m not going to cheat on this one and look it up but I do want to comment on the car itself. Look at the complexity of the parts visible on what is only a small part of the underside and think that the fully-functional automobile was only some TEN years old at that point! Bertha Benz’s pioneering (if illegal) cross-country trip in Karl’s #3 contraption had only been made on 05 Aug 1888! Sam, III
The 1910 race. Louis Chevrolet driver, Charles Miller mechanic.
A broken steering knuckle caused this car to crash into a parked car on Old Country
Road in Hicksville, killing Miller. Another death occurred in this race, factors which led to the
end of such races over public roads.
That’s the remains of Louis Chevrolet’s Marquette-Buick during the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race. His mechanician, Charles Miller, was killed in the crash when the racer’s wheel became wedged in a rut on Old Country Road in Hicksville, snapping the steering mechanism and causing Chevrolet to lose control. This fatality and the death of Harold Stone’s mechanician in another crash led to the end of open road racing on Long Island and New York.
Was going to avoid this intimidating mystery until I realized the info is “here”. So I “cheated”.
Guess this photo is from the John E Roosevelt Family Photo Album ( Gladys Roosevelt )
*ID VCR in which accident occurred: 10/1/1910 Long Island, NY
*Driver/Mechanician: Louis Chevrolet/Charles Miller
*Cause of crash: Louis’s Marquette - Buick #29 became stuck in a rut and the steering mechanism snapped. His auto crashed into a parked touring car, through a fence, and then into a tree in front of a farm house on Old Country Rd., Hicksville. Louis went airborne and wrenched his shoulder. Charles Miller was pinned under their flipped auto, and died.
*Significance of accident: In addition to this casualty, Harold Stone/Matthew Bacon’s Columbia racer leaped off the Meadowbrook Bridge in East Meadow. Not sure how Mr. Stone made out, but his mechanician Matthew Bacon died. With the deaths, accidents and crowd control issues;road racing on Long Island ceased.
Identify the Vanderbilt Cup Race in which this race occurred. 1910
Who was the driver and mechanician for this race car? Louis Chevrolet was the driver and Charles Miller the mechanician. Miller died in the crash. Drivng #29, a Marquette- Buick.
What caused the crash? I’ve read two causes - a blown tire and a snapped steering mechanism.
What was the significance of this accident? Races were not permitted after this race in Nassau County due to the people killed and injured.
My own bonus question: where did the accident occur? Based on newspaper articles the accident occurred at Bach’s corner in Hicksville (corner of Duffy Avenue and Old Country Road). Documentation sent to Howard showing the exact location of the Bach farmhouse.
This 1910 accident on Old Country Road in Hicksville likely caused the end for street racing on Long Island. Louis Chevrolet driving the 100hp Marquette-Buick managed a forward somersault after hitting a ditch and breaking the steering gear. The racer landed upside down on top of a touring car, pinning mechanician Charles Miller underneath. Miller was killed instantly. Chevrolet was ejected clear and suffered a broken arm. Three women in the touring car escaped injury.
http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/from_the_john_roosevelt_family_photo_album_action_in_hicksville_during_the
Excellent coverage with the newspaper archives and maps, Art! And the Bach’s happened to be friends with McCarthy’s
I had a feeling that this race led to the end of road racing on Long Island because of deaths and crowds but didn’t get a chance to back to answer. I should have answered it right away. Just thought I would let you know I knew it. Take care all.
Thanks Brian,
You just never know who your friends are!
Interesting, Art Kleiner’s posting of the NY Times Oct. 1 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Races listing of entrant, listed Louis Chevrolet brother Arthur also in a Marquette-Buick that was in this race, wonder how he did in the race?
____________________________________________
Howard Kroplick
Arthur Chevrolet finished 19th:
http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/cars/car/marquett-buick_29_1910
Gary Hammond has provided more details on the 1910 accident and it location.
Thanks for the additional info, Gary. And great postcard! Glad the Bach blacksmith shop was restored, at least in Old Bethpage Village.
Not only do these posts satisfy my LIMP, auto, and LI history interests, they also strike home every so often, especially since I’ve lived in Mineola and Westbuty, only blocks from the LIMP and VCR RsoW. I’ve spent many hours in the Bach BSS, on my own, with my kids and their cousins, and with my grandkids, and never realized the connection. [Funny, I got my own BSS from Adelphi!] Sam, III