Automobiles

The museum automobile collection is small, but significant. The 1904 Orient was actually sold by Glenn Curtiss who was a dealer for this automobile for a short time. The 1918 Buick Opera Coupe is displayed with the 1917 Jenny exhibit, and the 1940 Buick serves as a tow car for the Curtiss 1938 Aerocar travel trailer.

Our collection presently consists of:

  •  1904 Orient Buckboard
  •  1918 Buick Model E46 Opera Coupe
  •  1940 Buick Special Sport Coupe (on loan from Guy Bennett)

Selected items from our automobiles collection.

1910 Pullman

1930 Buick Guy Bennett

1937 Buick

Buick Model E46 Opera Coupe 1918 Buick made just 12 of these Opera Coupes, only one of which was a "hard-top convertible". the first of its kind. This car seats two, in addition to the chauffeur and a child's "jump-seat", and features a hat box and flower vase.

Buick Special Sport Coupe 1940 This Buick Special 2 Door Sport Coupe, powered by a Dynaflash Straight 8, was purchased new from the Chittum Buick Co. of Parkersburg, West Virginia by George Tichner. The car was sold to a neighbor in 1951 and then purchased by Guy Bennett in 1971.

Orient Buckboard 1904 The 1904 Orient Buckboard, costing $337, was the most inexpensive automobile in the world until the advent of the Ford Model T, which could be purchased for $290 in 1924. The Orient Buckboard weighed just 400 pounds, had a four-horsepower engine, and could reach a speed of 30 mph.