Vanderbilt Cup Races

Identify the driver and owner of the automobile.  Driver is Alicey Hurley Ramsey, owner is her husband, John R. Ramsey.

What year was this photo taken? Provide a rationale.  1908 license place.

Identify the manufacturer and model of the automobile.  Maxwell Roadster. 
 
What historical event was accomplished by the driver.  Ramsey was one of two woman to enter the AAA Montauk Point Endurance Race in 1908 and in 1909 she used another Maxwell to go cross country as part of a promotion sponsored by Maxwell Automobiles. 

Link the driver to Long Island and the manufacturer to the Vanderbilt Cup Races and Chrysler’s Chrysler: 
Ramsey drove in the Moutauk Point endurance race as mentioned above.  Maxwell entered racers in the 1906 American Elimination Trial, and the 1908, 1909, 1910 Sweepstakes associated with the Vanderbilt Cup Races.  Walter Chrysler was hired to turn things around at Maxwell and eventually merged it with his new Chrysler Corporation in 1924/1925.

Lots of very interesting documentation on this week’s mystery photo!

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved:Alice Huyler Ramsey & Her Maxwell Prior to Her 1909 Transcontinental Journey

A photo of Alice Huyler Ramsey the driver of the first transcontinental automobile trip by a woman driver.  The car is a Maxwell ‘30’ with 1908 plates.  The trip took place in 1909 when the car had later plates.  On October 20th, 1960 she was designated “Woman Motorist of the Century” by the American Automobile Association.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved:Alice Huyler Ramsey & Her Maxwell Prior to Her 1909 Transcontinental Journey

Why can’t I stop obsessing over this?

Were you facing south when making the video clip, Dave? Reason I ask because if you were facing south, then the sign that’s placarded would be on the east wall ( going by the older photo facing south that highlights the sign ). You stated that the east side was more hidden with greenery, etc. Maybe the sign is still there, just blocked by the growth?

From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City

Testing this would be easy, a single shovel and another visit to the Ruins. If today’s walls are already nearly 3 feet in height, then just a few more inches down should reveal the second crease from the top (the larger one). Is the west wall on private property today? As per Hector, a group trip soon is in order!

From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City

Identify the driver and owner of the automobile.
Alice Huyler Ramsey

What year was this photo taken? Provide a rationale.
1908 is on the license plate

Identify the manufacturer and model of the automobile.
1908 Maxwell Touring car

What historical event was accomplished by the driver.
Ramsey was the first woman to drive a car across the United States, a journey she and three other female passengers completed in 59 days when they arrived in San Francisco after departing from Manhattan, New York.

Link the driver to Long Island and the manufacturer to the Vanderbilt Cup Races and Chrysler’s Chrysler.
In September 1908 she drove one of the three Maxwells which were entered in that year’s American Automobile Association’s (AAA) Montauk Point endurance race, being one of only two women to participate. Maxwells also raced in Vanderbilt Cup Sweepstake races from 1906-1910. Maxwell-Briscoe was absorbed by Chrysler in 1926.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved:Alice Huyler Ramsey & Her Maxwell Prior to Her 1909 Transcontinental Journey

Darn it! I wanted to watch your video clip again, Dave. It became some kind of word jumble somehow.

From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City

Maxwell was the basis for the Chrysler line as Walter P was hired by Maxwell to run the company and pull it up from hard times.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved:Alice Huyler Ramsey & Her Maxwell Prior to Her 1909 Transcontinental Journey

That is Alice Ramsey and her 1909 Maxwell (model H or Q) during her cross country trip NY to CA, in 1909.
The run was duplicated in 2009 in a car owned by Richard Anderson from the state of Washington and driven by his daughter.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved:Alice Huyler Ramsey & Her Maxwell Prior to Her 1909 Transcontinental Journey

Frank, your attention to detail is superb. I see what you’re saying about that bridge sign on the cap. That would be cool if this were the spot of that sign (would be really cool if that sign were still there!) but I don’t think so. Again on the old pics that space from the top of the abutment to the crease is MUCH larger then what is on that wall in the video. I can’t get beyond that. I wish we had more old pics of that space showing the walls in more detail. I’m sure there was a 45 degree slope the end of the wall.

From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City

Upon further review, based on the NJ license plate, Alice Ramsey is probably standing in front of her own Maxwell Roadster that was purchased for her by her husband. The car in the left background is probably the Maxwell she drove during her cross-country trip. Looks like her three passengers are arguing over who is “claiming shotgun”.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved:Alice Huyler Ramsey & Her Maxwell Prior to Her 1909 Transcontinental Journey

I’m open to the wall theory, Dave. Those walls look fairly long ( total of 4 walls). Maybe what’s exposed is the south walls? If this is the case, then the abutments would’ve been demolished and then a whole lot of ground leveling was done. Can’t tell from the older photos if the walls angle downwards at their ends.

From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City

Hi Howard,

It’s 22 year old Alice Huyler Ramsey with her 1909 Maxwell DA. She was the first woman to drive across the US in 1909 and be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2000.

A quote from wikipedia: “In September 1908 she drove one of the three Maxwells which were entered in that year’s American Automobile Association’s (AAA) Montauk Point endurance race, being one of only two women to participate.”

From americanautohistory.com:
“The story of the Maxwell car—which 20 years after its inception became the sensational Chrysler—is one of determination, constant endeavor and well-earned success.”

There’s a photo of the Maxwell garage during the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup races on Long Island, New York.
From https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora:182257:
“View of Maxwell garage during the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup races on Long Island, New York. Painted on side of front-gabled wooden-frame building: “The Maxwell, the car for all the family, perfectly simple, simply perfect.” Handwritten on back: “Elimination. Races and racing—Vanderbilt Cup races, 1906.”

http://www.carfolio.com/specifications/models/car/?car=129382
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Huyler_Ramsey
http://www.americanautohistory.com/Marques/Marque730.htm
https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora:182257

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved:Alice Huyler Ramsey & Her Maxwell Prior to Her 1909 Transcontinental Journey

It’s Alice Ramsey with her 1909 Maxwell four-cylinder, 30hp Model DA, during her historic cross country drive, the first accomplished by a female driver. The Maxwell-Briscoe Company provided her with the car in an all-expense paid trip, based on her prowess in a 242-mile endurance run from Brooklyn to Montauk in what I believe was the “Land’s End to Land’s End” Economy Run of 1908, sponsored by the Long Island Automobile Club, held on February 25th. (It was an annual, mid-winter event, so perhaps Ramsey piloted a car in the 1909 run).

Walter P. Chrysler took over the ailing Maxwell company, improved its last models and used it for the basis of what would become the Chrysler Corporation.

Maxwell was on a roll in those days, and in 1911 would sweep the Glidden Tour awards for team and individual trophies, as seen in this photo of the Maxwell team cars and Governor Hoke Smith’s Maxwell, who won the Glidden and Anderson Trophies, respectively. Taken in front of Maxwell’s showrooms in NYC, note the bas-relief circa-1909 Maxwell front clips over the building’s twin entrances; it is provided courtesy of the Automotive Collection of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Enjoyed this one a lot Howard!

Tom Gibson

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved:Alice Huyler Ramsey & Her Maxwell Prior to Her 1909 Transcontinental Journey

Thanks Dave.  Yes, I know the “vine” people.  I’ll let you and the others haggle over if they are abutments or a wall or whatever, but one thing is for sure, they are something!  Hope you and Sam are doing fine!

From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City

My guess the roadway is still buried under there, after some ~90 years, and it’ll take some ~10 feet of shoveling to reach the LIMP road surface. It’s that deep. That’s my best estimate.

From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City

Great presentation Howard, didn’t have a clue of all the history behind the scenes. There’s so much history involved that is quickly forgotten. Can’t find a better place to recount history. Please keep this up.

From New York Post, January 3, 1925: "Vanderbilt Recalls Days When 30 Miles An Hour Was Speed" Part I

Dave, hard to tell with these fuzzy photos but quite possibly could have been two creases (photo sent to Howard). In the old photo, the inner west abutment shows the first crease about ~10 inches from the top, then second crease (the bottom of the cap [crown]) about ~3 feet. The east abutment photo showed only smooth wall (fuzzy photo). In your video of the west abutment, the 10 inch crease can be seen early but then is interrupted with a lower crack produced over time, then returns 10 inches towards the south end of the west abutment. The location of the sturdy sign at the north end (very beginning of same video) is smooth without creases. This can be the most likely location of the sign. The video you and Sammy provided has opened more channels for solving the mystery behind the Mayan Ruins. Always love to see your adventures.

From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City

Amazing!! Thank you for sharing!! Can we do group trips?

From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City

That’s Alice Huyler Ramsey who, in 1909 at the age of 22, became the first woman to drive cross country from New York to California. The owner of the car, a 1909 4-cylinder 30HP Maxwell DA, was the manufacturer Maxwell-Briscoe Company who sponsored the trip as an advertising / promotional event. I believe the photo was taken on June 9, 1909, the day she started her historic journey. She was accompanied by her two sisters-in-law: Margaret Atwood and Nettie Powell and friend Hermine Jahns, although she was the only driver. Her link to Long Island is that prior to her coast-to-coast ride, she drove in a 200 mile endurance ride from her home in Hackensack, NJ to Montauk and back. The Chrysler link is that in 1926 Maxwell-Briscoe was absorbed into Walter Chrysler’s company.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved:Alice Huyler Ramsey & Her Maxwell Prior to Her 1909 Transcontinental Journey

Brian: Love you man but I completely disagree!!

Look at the old pictures. From the top of the abutment to the “crease” there has to be at least 3 feet before the crease. Now look at my pictures, there is only like 8-10” there. It’s not the same! And there are no other “creases” in the abutments pictures so it’s not like we can be confusing it with any other “creases”. I honestly don’t think these are the abutments.

Next—-if this were the abutment, you see in the old pictures those things are at least 12-14 feet tall. The remaining wall is only about 2 feet tall. It can’t be that 10-12 feet of that abutment are underground! No way!

And about a block away at the Jasper house the original road pavement is right there in his backyard at present elevation. From this “abutment” location to the Jasper backyard - if in fact the abutments were buried, there would ABSOLUTELY be a noticeable elevation drop from the abutments there to the original pavement in his backyard. I’m totally convinced now that these are NOT the abutments!!

A date stamp would settle everything, but looking at the old pics I don’t even see that there was a date stamp on the abutments.

Art—-great pics on your site. I recall you telling me you knew those people but I assumed you were talking about the ones who lived in the house that I went to. You know the other side with the vines on their wall.

And I will join you with the shovel when you want to go and dig! I also think the pavement is there, but it wouldn’t take long to find it. I think we would only have to go down 6-12” before we found it because I don’t believe those are the abutments. Cant be!!!

From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City