Introduction – Early Electric Cars in America (1891-1922): Topics in Chronicling America – Research Guides at Library of Congress

Photograph of an Electric Studbaker. December 17, 1910. Goodwin’s Weekly: A Thinking Paper for Thinking People (Salt Lake City, UT), Image 61. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers.

“Good Bye, Horses!” In 1891, the first American electric vehicle was developed, providing a clean, quiet, easy alternative to horses and to other horseless vehicles. By 1897, electric cabs were operating in New York and Europe, and soon after electric autos were marketed, often particularly to women and the wealthy. Electric cars competed successfully in the early 20th century until several innovations, including the electric starter in gasoline-powered cars and the discovery of inexpensive sources of oil, rendered them obsolete. Read more about it!

The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.

The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.