The first car invented in Lexington was ‘one of the finest on the market’

Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.

In 1899, a Lexington businessman began work on the first car to hit the city’s streets — the Dewabout.

In the late 1880s, the main forms of transportation were railroads for long distances and horse-drawn carriages for local travel. City transit was primarily electric streetcars and horse-drawn buses, while steamboats and canals took people up and down waterways.

In 1885, Karl Benz invented the first practical automobile in Germany, a three-wheeled car with an internal combustion engine called the Motorwagen. His company went on to produce a four-wheeled car in 1893, and became what we now know as Mercedes-Benz.

The first car created in America is up for debate. In 1895, George Selden was granted a patent for the first automobile though he had not, at that time, actually built one. Charles Duryea and J. Frank Duryea are considered the first successful American inventors of a gasoline-powered automobile in 1892 or 1893.

By the late 1890, there were hundreds of cars available. The least expensive of these was the Run-About. At $1,000, it was billed as a four-seater that could be used for business or pleasure.

However, due to its springs and the power of the motor and battery, it was actually more of a two-seater, with the back seat being used only when absolutely necessary, and even then with “extreme care.” The Run-About has a 1 and a half horsepower motor and could travel up to 12 to 14 miles per hour.

At $1,600, the Merchandise Delivery vehicle from Roach & Barnes was the most expensive vehicle in Waverly Electric Automobiles in 1899. It was described as “very powerful and entirely practical,” reaching speeds from 8 to 12 miles per hour and able to do “the work of three horses.”

But in 1899, Lexington hadn’t seen any automobiles yet. That changed when Thomas Branthwaite Dewhurst invented his own car.

Built in Lexington, the Dewabout was essentially a buggy with a motor and gears. Weighing about 350 pounds, the car had a two-cylinder, four horsepower, air-cooled gasoline engine and was steered by a tiller.

According to the Lexington History Museum, the car ran on pneumatic bicycle tires and reached a cruising speed of 15 miles per hour.

Dewhurst owned and operated the Blue Grass Cycle Shop on Main Street in downtown Lexington. He drew his inspiration for the vehicle from pictures of other vehicles published in newspapers and magazines.

An inventor, with patents for things like rural mailboxes and a golf ball making machine, Dewhurst built the vehicle in his shop.

On June 12, 1901, the Dewabout made its debut on Lexington streets, traveling along Cheapside and out East Main Street. Dewhurst tested the machine in the early hours of the morning to ensure the streets were clear of horses.

Without a muffler, the engine was very loud. According to newspaper reports, the chains connecting the sprockets on the car were improvised out of bicycle chains and kept slipping off.

Reports in October said Dewhurst had taken the “horseless carriage” onto a number of local tracks.

“The machine, when perfected in every detail promises to be one of the finest on the market,” the Lexington Leader said.

Not long after, the Dewabout made a trip to Georgetown and back.

By 1902, the Dewabout was sold to Frank P. Scearce. Dewhurst had already started working on a new machine that had a six-horsepower engine and a muffler.

Have a question or story idea related to Lexington’s 250-year history? Let us know at 250LexKy@gmail.com.