Main fundraiser photo

Historic Transcontinental Road Trip

                         CW Tuthill and PG Scull (1916)
In November of 1916 CW Tuthill and PG Scull, two Maxwell salesmen, took a Maxwell Touring Car from Newark, NJ to California. They wanted to demonstrate that if a Maxwell could make this trip in the winter months, it would make an excellent family car for everyday use.

On November 16, 1916 they left Newark, NJ at 7:30 in the morning and arrived in Los Angeles, CA after 10 days and 16 hours of driving.  According to their sponsor, Texaco, that set a new national record. They continued up to San Francisco, then back south to San Diego before returning to the east coast on a southerly route through Texas and the southern states. They arrived back in Newark, NJ on January 25, 1917. 

CW Tuthill kept a diary of that entire trip.  On the way to Los Angeles he mentions 36 towns and 12 states they traveled through. 

                                                CW Tuthill 

On the 100th anniversary of that epic trip, CW Tuthill's grandsons wish to make the same trip in the same model Maxwell.   A 1917 Maxwell Model 25 was purchased in 2008 for the recreation of the trip. That car is being prepared for the 3,100 mile trip from Newark, NJ to Los Angeles, CA.  It has been repainted like the original. Every attempt is being made to replicate  the look of the original car which includes not just the signage on the car, but the tool box and Klaxon horn.  These items are visible in the old photos.

Through a lot of support of family and friends we are nearing the final stages of the car preparation.   Many have contributed their time, skill and financial support to prepare the car. Their generousity has enabled us to repaint the car black; add signage; rebuild the engine; obtain new tires; servicing of the running gear and more.
                              September 2016 car show
We are hoping GoFundMe can be a source of financial support to cover our gasoline, oil, and tolls for this trip.  Our plan is to drive the Maxwell and a chase truck with a trailer to Los Angeles, CA and then trailer the Maxwell back to the East Coast.  We are budgeting $5,000 to cover that expense.  Your financial support would be greatly appreciated (what ever you are comfortable giving).   

We have created a Transcontinental Road Trip website that includes the transcript of  CW Tuthill's 100 year old  diary, his photos and letters documenting the trip. The website also includes pictures and videos of our progress in planning this recreation of history. The planned route based on the diary is document on the website as well.  A  CW Tuthill Facebook page is also available online.

Once on the road our plan is to provide a daily blog of the trip on the website. Suscribers to the website would be sent an email with each blog posting. 

Making a transcontinental round trip 100 years ago was a remarkable accomplishment. There were no interstate highways, bridges were not at every river crossing, and gas stations were not on every corner. Roads were not paved and you had to rely on your own skills for repairs on the road. It means a lot to us to be able to celebrate our grandfather's accomplishment by doing this trip again on it's 100th anniversary. 

We would be very grateful for any financial support you can spare to help make this recreation of history possible.

A heartfelt thank you
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Donations 

  • Thad Dupper
    • $25 
    • 7 yrs
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Organizer

Rich Bassemir
Organizer
Austin, TX
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