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In 1876, Colonel Albert A. Pope of Boston began
importing bicycles to the United States. In 1878 he manufactured
the first U.S.-made bicycles in Hartford. By the mid-1880s, the
bicycle-craze was sweeping the nation and Americans were getting
their first taste of unfettered personal mobility—and they
wanted more of it. To this end, organized bicycle clubs joined
forces to promote the improvement of roads. Good roads would increase
land values, open new markets for food and manufactured products,
eliminate isolation, encourage better attendance at school and
churches, and end rural poverty. Of course, additional benefits
of better roads also meant more comfortable riding, riding longer
distances, and faster cycling.
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Bicycle Club, Terryville Station
Photograph
ca. 1890
Photo CD: 1452
File: img0091.pcd
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Nine men pose
with three bicycles in front of the Terryville Railroad Station
and Western Union Telegraph Office around 1890. The bicycles shown
are the large-wheel ‘penny-farthing’ type. These vehicles
were difficult to learn to ride, expensive, and because they frightened
horses, were considered a public nuisance.
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Ladies Cycle Club of Hartford on Hill Near
Soldiers and Sailors
Monument
Photograph by Charles T. Stuart
Fall 1890
Photo CD: 0553
File: img0095.pcd
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Twelve women,
all members of the Hartford Ladies Cycle Club, and wearing long
skirts and hats pose with bicycles in front of the Soldiers and
Sailors Memorial Arch in Bushnell Park in Hartford in the Fall
of 1890. For women of means, cycling was a popular leisure-time
activity. Note that the bicycles are ‘women’s’
cycles without a top cross-bar to allow access for skirts. Also
note the large spring mechanism under the seat of the bicycle
on the far left.
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