DTMFall'25_Final - Flipbook - Page 16
Chadbourne Street in the 1930’s. Photo Courtesy of DavickServices.com
The automobile had its impact on the city as early
as 1902, with the San Angelo Press reporting on
April 16 that the first automobile “should reach our
city according to appointment about the 25th of
this month . . .” A report filed eleven years later on
July 6, 1913 by the San Angelo Evening Standard
offered these further details: “The car was a
ten-passenger affair and, when new, cost $2000. It
was owned by a company, of which A. S. Gantt was
the president . . . for the purpose of filling the bill as
bus and street car . . .” The vehicle was only used
for about six months and didn’t prove profitable,
for “when it got out of fix there was no one here
who could repair it . . .” Stored in a livery stable, it
was stripped of parts bit by bit until there was
nothing left but the metal shell. The article
concluded that “the big car, once the pride and
wonder of the city” was “sold to a junk dealer for
five dollars.”
1913
$5~$163.32
2025
New Model of the “Reo Make”. Photo Courtesy of RusselCars.ca
However, the San Angelo Weekly Standard of
November 28, 1913, reported that a Dr. L. S. Dysart
“probably owns the oldest running automobile in
the country.” The newspaper claimed that the
vehicle was an 1895 model “of the Reo make” and
that it had traveled some 25,000 miles. Further,
despite being offered a “new car and $1000 for the
old one,” Dysart refused, caring as much for the car
“as if it was a million dollar baby.” This account,
plus the fact that “several years ago E. H. Labadie of
Galveston resided in San Angelo. Mr. Labadie was
at one time the owner of the first automobile in
Texas” lead the Weekly Standard to proclaim that
“San Angelo people are always doing something
that keeps the town before the public.”
