“The Wheel
It made a drastic impact on North
Carolina industry and transporta¬
tion.
By LEWIS PHILIP HALL
With the coming of the Wilmington
& Weldon Railroad to the State. March
7, 1840, dire predictions were made
on the fate of the horse.
As early as 1819, however, a new
method of transportation had ap¬
peared on the American scene in the
form of two wheels, separated by a
wooden bar, on top of which was a
padded seat. This contraption was
manipulated by the push and coast
method and was called a “Draisine”
for its inventor, Baron Von Drais, of
Germany.
From this simple beginning there
bloomed, in the next 81 years, an in¬
dustry that threatened to bankrupt
the economy of America.
By the summer of 1869 a wooden
vclocipedrome had been erected in
Wilmington, where nightly velocipede
races were held. Silver pitchers, nap¬
kin rings and goblets were awarded
for fast, slow and fancy riding by
winning adult contestants.
N. C.’s First Bike
In the early 1870’s the standard
“high wheel” or “ordinary'” bike was
easily the favorite model of cyclists,
and was so named because it was just
an ordinary bicycle.
As far as can be determined, the
first bicycle in the State was owned by
three gentlemen of Wilmington. R. F.
Hamme, Jr., retired, of this city, re¬
calls hearing his father tell of that
novel occasion.
“About 1878,” Mr. Hamme said,
“Messrs. Willie Gordon, Edward Lilly
and R. F. Hamme Sr., three business
men of this city, pooled $50 each and
ordered from the Pope Manufacturing
Company, of Hartford, Conn, a Co¬
lumbia bicycle.” This company had
been founded that year and was the
first of its kind in America. Bicycles,
prior to the founding of this concern,
had been manufactured in England.
“This bicycle was the type known
as the ‘high-wheel’ or ‘ordinary’,”
Hamme continued, “and it was
shipped to Wilmington via the Wil¬
mington & Weldon Railroad. AH the
officials of the railroad, on hearing the
news of its arrival, were among the
tremendous crowd of people that as¬
sembled at the depot for the first view
of the machine — the likes of which
had never been seen in Wilmington
before.
No Pavement
“There was not at that time,”
Hamme said, “one inch of hard pave¬
ment in the entire city of Wilmington,
so in order to ride the contraption the
trio had to either cross the Cape Fear
River on the flat-boat ferry to the
Eagles Island causeway, which was
hard-packed sand and clay, or haul
the wheel by wagon to what is now
17th and Dock streets, to the first
toll house of the Wilmington & Coast
Turnpike — at which point the
crushed oyster shell road to the coast
began.
“Built as all high wheelers were with
the usual 65-inch front wheel and the
12-inch rear wheel, there were one or
two steps on the rear of the frame to
enable the rider to mount to the seat,
which was at least six feet from the
ground.
“After a few trial runs both Gor¬
don and Hamme learned to maintain
their balance and ride the bicycle, but
Lilly after three to four rather jarring
spills, sold his interest in the bike to
Washington Catlett, professor of the
Cape Fear Military Academy,
“Although the cyclists were paying
the same toll rates for the use of the
turnpike as the horse and carriage
trade,” Mr. Hamme said, “the owners
ruled that the bicycle was a hazard to
their business, and refused them
further use of the road.”
Shortly after this the three men
hired one Frank Darby, an attorney,
to intercede for them. Finally, after
many discussions with the Turnpike
Company, an agreement was reached.
The Turnpike Company officials stated
that if the three men (named) would
post a bond of ten dollars each for any
damage that occurred, and would com¬
ply with the following instructions,
they would be allowed to use the road.
The instructions were as follows:
Rules of the Road
“If any one of the three said men,
while riding the bike on the turnpike,
came within sight of a horse or mule
or any type of conveyance, they
were to dismount immediately, take
the said wheel into the woods at least
100 feet from the said Turnpike, and
lay the said bicycle down flat on the
ground; return to the turnpike and
grasp the bridle of the said horse, or
mule, and lead the animal well past the
position of the said bicycle, at which
time the said men were then at liberty
to again mount the said bicycle and
proceed.”
This the three men agreed to do,
and so many happy hours were spent
riding their silent steed over the hard
surfaced road to the coast.
Contrary to the popular idea of to¬
day that the automotive industry
sponsored and advocated better roads
across America, this fine effort was
actually begun some 15 years prior to
the operation of the first automobile
in this country, by a group of cyclists,
in 1880. of Newport, Rhode Island,
known as the League of American
Wheelman.
The bicycle craze was not only the
THE STATE, DECEMBER 1, 196B
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