The Locomobile Steamer Photo--20250707

Wright Elsom, Jr. (background) and Philander Barclay (foreground). Image photographed from the photo displayed at the booth of the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest during A Day in Our Village, June 1, 2025.

The Locomobile Steamer Photo

By Anna-Maria Manuel

Published July 7, 2025.

Note: All mentions of Elsom refer to Wright Elsom, Jr., not his father Wright Elsom, Sr.

This 1902 image of Wright Elsom (background) and Philander Barclay (foreground) in an 1899 Locomobile Steamer (taken in front of Elsom’s shop at Marion and Williams (Westgate) streets) made the rounds of Historical Society events, this past June. I first saw the image at the Historical Society’s booth at A Day in Our Village. The following weekend, I saw it at their booth at the Vintage Car Show that they hosted in the streets surrounding the History Museum at Lake Street and Lombard Avenue. Typically, I see the image as I approach the museum and look up at the second-floor windows. It seems as if Oak Park’s first Village Historian and his boss, Elsom, are keeping tabs on arriving visitors at the History Museum.

So, let’s discover why this photo is significant to local history.

Locomobile Steamer: “First Horseless Carriage” in Oak Park.

George W. Hayden (1872-1937) [1] purchased the pictured Locomobile Steamer in 1899. The machine that “startled the horses and made them shie along the streets” cost $650. Hayden’s Locomobile Steamer was the “first horseless carriage” in Oak Park. [2]

Soon, a Haynes-Apperson, “the first gas driven car” in the village appeared, followed by a Winton, also gas powered, owned by Retter Hall (1877-1941). [3]

According to an Oak Leaves article, “It seems that the biggest fault . . . Hall found with his Winton was that it was reluctant to run.” [4]

Hall wasn’t a mechanic; he was a clerk [5]. However, Hayden, a mechanical engineer, kept the Winton running with “a little overhauling now and then.” [6]

In 1900, Hayden and Hall traded cars. Hayden got the Winton, which originally cost $1200 and had a top speed of 20 miles per hour. Hall got $200 and the Locomobile Steamer, which “rip[ped] down the highways at the astonishing rate of thirty miles an hour.” [7]

Hayden worked on the Winton and drove it to Galesburg, Illinois. He covered 165 miles in three days. Most of the time, Hayden was sidelined, “fixing and changing the old single tube frozen-rimmed tires that seemed a magnet for all the nails and glass for miles around. The engine also needed constant care.” Both Hayden and his Winton returned home by rail. [8]

The Oak Leaves reported Hall owned the Locomobile Steamer for four years, then traded it to Elsom for a motorcycle.[9]

Who Was Wright Elsom?

Wright Elsom (1872-1928) [10] was in the electrical business, beginning in 1890. [11]

After attending Ann Arbor University [12], Elsom opened his bicycle and electrical shop at 141 North Boulevard in Oak Park, in August 1894. [13] He may have decided to handle bicycles to take advantage of the bicycle craze in the U.S. at that time.

In the spring of 1896, Elsom had a new building constructed for his business on the southwest corner of Marion and Williams (now Westgate) streets. [14] He moved his shop to the new space in September 1896. [15]

Philander Barclay began working at Elsom’s bicycle and electrical goods shop in 1898. [16] It is interesting to note that in the January 1, 1898 Oak Park Directory, the Barclay family lived in a flat above Elsom’s bike shop at 117 Marion Street. [17] Could Barclay have been inspired to go into the bicycle trade from observing the activity of the bicycle shop in the same building? Did he think the bicycle craze would prove lucrative for him? Perhaps, some of both?

At Elsom’s shop, work wasn’t limited to bicycles and electrical goods. According to Barclay, the business “took in every sort of work that came along.” The business made keys; repaired umbrellas, bicycles, automobiles, motorcycles, wheelchairs, and baby buggies; and fixed hot-water bottles and rubber shoes. They also replaced or repaired tires on racing sulkies from the Harlem (Forest Park) Racetrack. [18]

Elsom Transitions to Automobiles. Photo Used for Advertising.

By 1902, with automobiles in Oak Park, Elsom may have started thinking that cars—not bicycles—would soon be the more popular form of transportation. Elsom slowly transitioned to include automobile sales at his shop.

In March 1902, the Oak Leaves reported that Elsom returned to Oak Park after being away for several months. While away from his shop, Elsom was “engaged” with the Jeffrey [sic] Automobile Company, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. [19] The Thomas Jeffery Company (1902-1916) manufactured the Rambler and Jeffery brand autos. [20]

That spring was a period of transition for Elsom and his shop. Elsom leased his space at 117 Marion Street to J. A. Sutherland, who owned a gentlemen’s furnishing store. Sutherland planned to move in on April 1.[21] Elsom moved his business to a space that was in the same building, “at the side entrance of 119 Marion Street” [22] or “Cor. Marion and Williams Sts.” [23]

Then, in Elsom’s May 2, 1902 ad in the Oak Leaves, he announced, “Autos yet to come.” [24] The ad featured the photo of Elsom and Barclay in the Locomobile Steamer. [25]

IMG_9981--Elsom and Barclay in Locomobile Steamer--Low Res.jpg

Elsom ad from the Oak Leaves, May 2, 1902, pg. 13. Recognize the photo?

By my count, Elsom used that photo in four Oak Leaves ads in 1902. All ads referred to future auto sales. He was waiting for the “right” price to sell autos—“about $350.” [26]

In September 1902, Elsom purchased property on North Boulevard, opposite the train depot. He wanted to build an automobile and bicycle repair shop. [27]

Elsom’s new 25-foot x 100-foot building at 141 North Boulevard opened on May 2, 1903, [28]. Elsom and his father had the distinction of owning the “first garage” in Oak Park, the Oak Park Cycle and Automobile Depot. [29] The office and salesroom occupied the front half; the machine shop was at the rear. Electric motors drove lathes and other machines. A deep pit permitted mechanics to easily work underneath an automobile. “Lubricating oil, kerosene and gasoline were on tap by the barrel.” [30]

By June, Elsom advertised that he was the Oak Park agent for Oldsmobiles, price $650 [31] (higher than the $350 he wanted to sell cars for).

Although Elsom still had bicycle sales and repairs, he began focusing more on automobile sales and service. By late 1905, he became the Oak Park, River Forest, and Harlem (Forest Park) agent for Rambler automobiles. He had taken a driving trip to the factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin and was impressed with the “immense works,” the test track, and the 1906 four-cylinder cars that were being manufactured and tested. [32]

Perhaps, it was Elsom’s focus on automobiles that drove (no pun intended) Barclay to open his own bicycle shop in 1906. After all, he had worked in the bicycle business since 1898, gaining practical experience. Plus, Barclay and Elsom managed the bicycle department at the Oak Park Cycle and Automobile Depot. (Wright Elsom, Sr. and machinist John Davies managed the automobile department.) [33] Why couldn’t Barclay successfully operate his own shop?

Sources:

1. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69236433/george_walworth hayden; accessed July 4, 2025.

2. “On First Village Autos”; Oak Leaves; December 22, 1928; pg. 49.

3. Ibid and

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143920997/irving_retter-hall; accessed July 4, 2025.

4. Ibid.

5. Irving R Hall; Year: 1900; Census Place: Cicero, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 292; Page: 15; Enumeration District: 1148.

6. George Hayden; Year: 1900; Census Place: Cicero, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 292; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 1145 and

“On First Village Autos”; Oak Leaves; December 22, 1928; pg. 49.

7. “On First Village Autos”; Oak Leaves; December 22, 1928; pg. 49.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Wisconsin Department of Health Services; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Death Records, 1907-1932; Ancestry.com; accessed July 5, 2025, and “Death of Wright Elsom”; Oak Leaves; November 3, 1928; pg. 84.

11. Oak Park Directory; Ridgeland Directory; January 1, 1890; pg. 66.

12. “Ridgeland”; The Vindicator (Oak Park, Illinois); December 30, 1892; pg. 6. Could “Ann Arbor University” be University of Michigan, Ann Arbor?

13. Oak Park Reporter; August 17, 1894; pg. 4.

14. Oak Park Reporter; April 24, 1896; pg. 4.

15. Oak Park Reporter; September 4, 1896; pg. 4.

16. Information from the back of a photo (Barclay at a workbench in Elsom’s shop); Philander Barclay Collection; Historical Society of the Oak Park and River Forest.

17. Oak Park Directory; January 1, 1898; pg. 26.

18. Philander Barclay; “Famous Bicycle Barclay in Front of His Shop”; The Oakparker; November 29, 1935; pg. 41.

19. “Wright Elsom Returns”; Oak Leaves; March 14, 1902; pg. 7.

20. “Thomas B. Jeffery Company”; Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_B._Jeffery_Company; accessed July 5, 2025.

21. “Business News”; Oak Leaves; March 14, 1902; pg. 16.

22. Elsom ad; Oak Park Reporter; May 1, 1902; pg. 4.

23. Elsom ad; Oak Leaves; May 2, 1902; pg. 13.

24. Ibid.

25. Retter Hall may have still owned the Locomobile Steamer when Elsom and Barclay had their picture taken in it. The aforementioned Oak Leaves article (from December 22, 1928) reported that Hall owned the vehicle for four years, beginning in 1900.

26. Elsom ad; Oak Leaves; August 1, 1902; pg. 13.

27. “Personal”; The Oak Park Argus; September 26, 1902; pg. 1.

28. “Wright Elsom’s Garage”; Oak Leaves; May 1, 1903; pg. 10.

29. “Death of Wright Elsom”; Oak Leaves; November 3, 1928; pg. 84, and Illinois Digital Archives; Oak Park Public Library; Philander Barclay Collection; photo of Wright Elsom’s shop.

30. “Wright Elsom’s Garage”; Oak Leaves; May 1, 1903; pg. 10.

31. Wright Elsom ad; Oak Leaves; June 26, 1903; pg. 4.

32. Elsom ad; Oak Leaves; November 18, 1905; pg. 28.

33. Elsom ad; Oak Leaves; August 19, 1905; pg. 20.