It was a warm August evening in 1960 when I accompanied my dad in his 1919 Dodge Touring car to the Blue Ribbon Garage in Bridgeport. The firm had been in business since the late 1800’s when the company designed and built horse-drawn carriages, and they had been selling motorcars since 1908 – first Packard and Cadillac, and beginning in 1914, Dodge.
That evening, dad handed me the thickest scrapbook I had ever seen. It contained clippings, programs, and photographs that dated back to before the turn of the century, covering the history of the company up until the beginning of WWII. What captured my imagination the most in that collection were the articles and memorabilia that were related to the hill climbs in Easton during the first decade of the 20th century.
Over the years I have always been fascinated by that history, often imagining how exciting it must have been trying to navigate the steep inline and sharp curves that once made up the southern part of that road from the Fairfield line to the top of the hill – all while driving a car that was even older than dad’s 1919 Dodge!
The first hill climbs in Easton took place in 1902. Subsequent years saw the event grow into one of the three largest hill climbs on the Eastern seaboard, attracting factory sponsored cars driven by the most accomplished drivers of their time. At its peak in 1909, the Memorial Day event drew more than 10,000 spectators and was reported in many newspapers throughout the country. Some of those cars still exist – a few in museums and a few in private collections.
It was early November of last year when I received an email from Shenton King, the president of the Fairfield County Horseless Carriage Club of America. He had read about our upcoming talk about the Sport Hill Races and wanted to attend. He indicated that they were thinking of staging a recreation of the hill climb sometime in 2025. I was immediately sold on the idea.
We began the weeklong celebration on Saturday, May 17th with a small car show and community barbeque at the 1795 Staples Academy building at the corner of Westport and Center Roads. What better venue than the oldest public building in town showcasing the oldest event?
On Saturday, May 24th, fifty antique motorcars began filling the parking lot at the Easton Library beginning around 7:30 AM. Among those vintage cars was Alex Dragone’s 1906 Locomobile racer – one of only two race cars the company built for competition. That car finished third at the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup race on Long Island. In all, we had nearly 20 pre-1916 vehicles, with most of the owners anxious to run in the three scheduled demonstration events that day.
First to cross the starting line at 10:30 was Easton resident Kobus Reyneke in his home-built quarter-scale replica of the 1911 Fiat S76 racer known as “The Beast of Turin.” Remarkably quick and equally unstable, Kobus thrilled the crowd as he roared up the hill, trying desperately to keep his tiny machine going straight enough to remain on the roadway.
A pristine blue Hupmobile driven by Parker Ackley chugged slowly up the course, followed by an incredible 1911 Pierce Arrow owned by the Tomko family of Redding. Restoration expert Mark Herman piloted a 1910 Stanley Steamer, while Chris King drove one of his family’s impeccably restored Pope-Hartford Touring cars. His brother Shenton sped up the hill in his 1914 Mercer 450 racecar. The final car to run in each heat was Alex Dragone in the beautifully prepared 1906 Locomobile Number One racer.
It wasn’t about the speed – let’s face it, most of these early cars were not incredibly fast – it was about the love and joy these car owners share with the rest of us when they create such an event.
But the happiest person there on Saturday was likely the twelve-year-old boy who still lives inside of me. On the second run of the day, I rode shotgun with Mark Herman in the Steamer, and suddenly I was living in 1910 – if only for a few moments!
Sponsors of this event were the Historical Society of Easton, The Staples Academy Foundation, the Town of Easton, Greiser’s Coffee and Market, and of course, the Fairfield County chapter of the Horseless Carriage Club of America. Special thanks go out to the HCCA and HSE volunteers, First Selectman David Bindelglass, the Easton Police Department, the Easton Public Library, and most especially to Shenton King, Alex Dragone, and Mark Herman for making this event become a reality.
