1898 Winton Automobile

Winton Engine Company · 1898

This is the first production car that Alexander Winton sold. One of America’s earliest automobile manufacturers, Winton had repaired and sold bicycles in the 1890s, then began producing gasoline cars in Cleveland for affluent Americans who wanted to try the new thrill of driving. Robert Allison, a retired machinist in Port Carbon, Pennsylvania, purchased this car. Winton vehicles became known for their quality and rugged durability; Alexander Winton fielded several race cars in the early 1900s, and H. Nelson Jackson made the first transcontinental automobile trip in a 1903 Winton touring car. The Winton Motor Carriage Company made cars until 1924. The Winton Engine Company, a successor company, donated the 1898 car to the Smithsonian Institution in 1929.