Overview of Selects: The First Road Trip
This Selects episode from Stuff You Should Know revisits the remarkable true story of Horatio Nelson Jackson, the first person to drive across the United States in an automobile. Set in 1903, the story is equal parts pioneering travel adventure, early automotive history, and feel-good buddy road trip—featuring Jackson, mechanic Sewell Crocker, and later their canine companion Bud. The episode emphasizes how absurdly difficult cross-country driving was at the time, and how their success helped prove that cars were more than just expensive novelties.
Why the Trip Was Such a Big Deal
The world in 1903
- Cars were still new, expensive, and widely viewed as impractical toys for rich people.
- Most long-distance travel still happened by train, while local travel was typically by horse or carriage.
- The U.S. road system was extremely primitive:
- About 2.3 million miles of roads
- Only about 150 miles were paved
- There were roughly 14 million horses in the U.S. and only about 8 cars.
There was no real road infrastructure
- Roads were often muddy, dusty, rutted, or nonexistent.
- There were no route numbers, GPS, or even standardized road names.
- Directions were often landmark-based, like “turn right at the old stone horse trough.”
Horatio Jackson, Sewell Crocker, and the Winton
How the trip started
- Jackson, a doctor who had left medicine after contracting tuberculosis, was already a car enthusiast.
- In San Francisco, after hearing skeptics dismiss cars as useless, he bet $50 that he could drive from San Francisco to New York in under 90 days.
- He quickly assembled a team and bought a 1903 Winton touring car, which he named the Vermont.
Why Sewell Crocker mattered
- Crocker was a young small-engine mechanic who understood automobiles and could repair them on the road.
- He became the ideal travel partner for a trip that would require constant improvisation and mechanical fixes.
The Route and the Challenges
A smarter route west to east
- Jackson and Crocker followed the example of earlier attempts and began in the western U.S., tackling the hardest terrain first.
- They chose a route that went north through Oregon to avoid the worst of the Nevada desert, which had already trapped earlier expeditions.
Major obstacles they faced
- Frequent tire blowouts
- Constant breakdowns
- Repeatedly getting stuck in mud, sand, ditches, and rivers
- Having to rely on block and tackle gear to pull the car free
- Road conditions so rough that they sometimes had to drive along railroad right-of-ways or even over railroad bridges
- Waiting days for parts to arrive by stagecoach
Resourcefulness on the road
- They carried:
- rope and pulleys
- a Kodak camera
- sleeping bags
- an axe and shovel
- guns and ammunition
- Their supplies were poorly secured, so they lost multiple items along the way, including pairs of eyeglasses and other gear.
- They later added an acetylene headlamp so they could drive at night and make up time.
Bud the Dog and the Journey’s Most Famous Addition
How Bud joined
- In Caldwell, Idaho, a man offered Jackson and Crocker his pit bull, Bud, as a mascot.
- They bought him for $15 and outfitted him with protective goggles.
Why Bud became a star
- Bud quickly adapted to riding in the car.
- He became a public favorite and helped boost the trip’s press coverage.
- His presence made the whole expedition even more charming and memorable.
The Outcome
They made it
- Jackson, Crocker, and Bud arrived in Manhattan, New York on July 26, 1903
- Total time: 63 days, 12 hours, 30 minutes
- Jackson won the bet, but never collected the money
What happened afterward
- Bud lived out the rest of his life on Jackson’s farm in Vermont.
- Jackson later:
- served in World War I
- became a decorated veteran
- ran for governor of Vermont
- donated the Vermont and Bud’s goggles to the Smithsonian
What happened to Sewell Crocker
- Crocker died young, in 1913, after contracting an illness while serving in Mexico during revolutionary unrest.
- His early death is the story’s main tragic note.
Legacy and Historical Importance
A proof-of-concept for automobiles
- The trip helped demonstrate that cars could handle long-distance travel, even in punishing conditions.
- It showed that automobile travel had real potential, despite roads and infrastructure being far behind.
Later milestones
- In 1909, Alice Ramsey and three friends became the first women to drive across the U.S., sponsored by Maxwell-Briscoe.
- About 30 years later, Erwin “Cannonball” Baker set a much faster cross-country record, which eventually inspired the Cannonball Run legend.
Notable Takeaways
- The episode is less about conflict and more about wonder, ingenuity, and perseverance.
- Jackson comes across as unusually likable and optimistic, which made him a perfect subject for the story.
- The trip succeeded not because it was easy, but because the team kept adapting to whatever the road threw at them.
- Bud the dog is a standout detail that turns a historic feat into a beloved road-trip story.
Listener Mail Highlight
Amazon trivia
- The episode closes with a listener note about the Amazon River: the volume of water leaving its mouth is said to equal the flow of Niagara Falls, Victoria Falls, and Iguazu Falls combined—times 12.
- It’s a fun unrelated fact that the hosts clearly enjoyed.