Charles Edgar Duryea was the engineer of the first-ever working American gasoline-powered car and co-founder of Duryea Motor Wagon Company. He was born near Canton, Illinois, the son of George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but spent most of his life working in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was in Springfield that Charles and his brother, Frank, produced and road-tested America's first gasoline-powered car.
Biography
He was born on December 15, 1861, near Canton, Illinois, to George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner. Charles Duryea and his brother Frank were initially bicycle makers in Washington, D.C., but later became world-renowned as the first American gasoline-powered car manufacturers, headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. Generally speaking, Charles engineered the automobiles, while Frank built, tested and raced them.
On September 21, 1893, the Duryea Brothers road-tested the first-ever, working American gasoline-powered automobile on the Howard Bemis farm in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The Duryea's "motor wagon" was a used horse drawn buggy that the brothers had purchased for $70 and into which they had installed a 4 HP, single cylinder gasoline engine. The car had a friction transmission, spray carburetor and low tension ignition. Frank Duryea test drove it again on November 10 — this time in a prominent location: past their garage at 47 Taylor Street in Springfield. The next day it was reported by The Republican newspaper with great fanfare. This particular car was put into storage in 1894 and stayed there until 1920, when it was rescued by a former Duryea engineer Inglis M. Uppercu and presented to the United States National Museum. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1973.
On November 28, 1895, in Chicago, their vehicle, driven by brother Frank, had won America's first car race. It ran to Evanston, Illinois and back. The only other finisher was one of three Benz cars mostly made in Germany. After Frank won, demand grew for the Duryea Motor Wagon. In 1896, the Duryea Brothers produced 13 cars by hand — in their garage at 47 Taylor Street — and thus Duryea became the first-ever commercially produced vehicle, and also the largest automobile factory in the United States. For the history of the company and its cars, see Duryea Motor Wagon Company. Charles Duryea sought out investors and buyers while his brother, Frank Duryea, primarily handled the mechanical side of the business. A Duryea car was involved in America's first known auto accident. New York City motorist Henry Wells hit a bicyclist with his new Duryea. The rider suffered a broken leg, Wells spent a night in jail and the nation's first traffic accident was recorded. In 1913, George Vanderbilt purchased and drove a Stevens-Duryea, but was one of few people in the United States who could afford one. His 1913 Duryea is Vanderbilt's only original car kept at his Biltmore Estate. Duryea ceased manufacturing in 1917. Charles Duryea died of a heart attack in Philadelphia on September 28, 1938, and was buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery, West Oak Lane.
Legacy
The annual Duryea Hillclimb is named in his honor.
