The roots of Wisconsin's automobile industry go back to 1873, when the first steam-powered, self-propelled vehicle in the United States was designed and operated by Reverend Dr. J.W. Carhart of Racine. Gasoline-powered automobiles began to appear more regularly in the state by 1899. In 1900, Thomas L. Jeffery, who had built primitive automobiles in Chicago, moved to Kenosha where he produced 1,500 new Ramblers in 1902. The Jeffery family sold the business in 1916 to Charles W. Nash, who quickly made the Kenosha plant the largest producer of automobiles outside Detroit. Military contracts during World War One gave a boost to Wisconsin's automobile manufacturers, and over the next several decades the industry evolved into one the state's most important enterprises. View more information at Turning Points in Wisconsin History, and a gallery of hundreds of photographs of historic cars at Wisconsin Historic Images.

Turning Points in Wisconsin History

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Automobile industry in Wisconsin

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Dictionary of Wisconsin History

Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.