A high wheeler is a car which uses large diameter wheels that are similar to those used by

horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...

s. These cars were produced until about 1915, predominantly in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Design

High wheelers were derived from horse-drawn wagons, and often were conversions of these. Similarly to these wagons, they often feature wood-spoke wheels, suspensions and boxy wooden bodies. The large-diameter slender

wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

s were frequently with solid rubber

tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...

s, to provide ample ground clearance on the primitive roads of the late 19th century. These cars were produced in many body styles. The most common were the motorized wagon (utility vehicle) runabout, roadster and buggy, some with detachable

tonneau A tonneau ( or ) is an area of a car or truck open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo. A tonneau cover in current automotive terminology is a hard or soft cover that spans the back of a pickup truck to protect the load or to improve ...

s. File:International Torpedo - Coupe Florio 2015 01.jpg, International Harvester Auto-Buggy File:1911 International Wagon.JPG, 1911 International Harvester Auto Wagon File:Vintage International Harvester Auto Buggy (5043226321) (cropped).jpg, International Harvester Auto Wagon File:Sears Model L.JPG, Sears Model L Image:Patent, Duryea Road Vehicle, 1895.png,

Patent drawing A patent application or patent may contain drawings, also called patent drawings, illustrating the invention, some of its embodiments (which are particular implementations or methods of carrying out the invention), or the prior art. The drawings ...

for the

Duryea Duryea may refer to: * Duryea (surname) *Duryea Motor Wagon Company, first American automobile company *Duryea, Pennsylvania Duryea is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, south of Scranton. The ...

Road Vehicle, 1895 File:George B Selden driving automobile in 1905.jpg,

George B. Selden George Baldwin Selden (September 14, 1846 – January 17, 1922) was a patent lawyer and inventor who was granted a U.S. patent for an automobile in 1895.Flink, p. 51 ''Probably the most absurd action in the history of patent law was the grantin ...

driving an automobile in 1905 File:Lenoir Hippomobile.jpg, Lenoir

Hippomobile The Hippomobile is an automobile invented by Étienne Lenoir in 1863 which carried its own internal combustion engine. It was based on his 1860 invention, the Lenoir gas engine. History In 1863 the Hippomobile, powered by one cylinder internal ...

History

Before gasoline engines became widely available, high wheelers were powered by

electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate force ...

s or

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

s. The decline of the high wheeler began when standard automobiles became more sophisticated and inexpensive. The end came with the popularity of the

Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

. The last high wheelers were built around 1915.

Manufacturers

The following companies produced high-wheeler cars: *

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Anchor Buggy The Anchor Buggy was a short-lived United States automobile manufacturer; the high wheeler was manufactured by the Anchor Buggy and Carriage Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, in 1910 and 1911. An 1890 advertisement for the Anchor Bugg ...

* Åtvidabergs Vagnfabrik *

Best Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...

* Buckeye * *Clymer *

Cole Cole may refer to: Plants * Cole crops of the genus ''Brassica'', especially cabbage, kale, or rape (rapeseed). People * Cole (given name), people with the given name Cole * Cole (surname), people with the surname Cole Companies * Cole Moto ...

* *

Columbia Electric Columbia was an American brand of automobiles produced by a group of companies in the United States. They included the Pope Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, the Electric Vehicle Company, and an entity of brief existence in 1899, ...

* *

De Schaum The De Schaum was an American automobile manufactured in Buffalo, New York from 1908 to 1909. The company offered a 7 hp High wheeler called the De Shaum and Seven Little Buffaloes. History William A. De Shaum was William A Shaum with a ...

* DeWitt * *

* * Electrobat *

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

* Fuller* * Hatfield *

Haynes-Apperson Haynes-Apperson Company was a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles in Kokomo, Indiana, from 1896 to 1905. It was the first automobile manufacturer in Indiana, and among the first in the United States. Elwood Haynes, one of the founders, worked o ...

* * Hobbie Accessible * Holsman *

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfiel ...

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

* *Jeannin * Jewell/Jewel* * Keystone * Kiblinger *

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

* *Lindsley * Luverne* * McIntyre* * * Reliable Dayton * Schacht* * Sears * Single Center *Sperry Electric * Staver * * Success * * Waverley Electric* Waverley Electric
/ref> * Woods* ** * Companies which also produced cars other than high wheelers

References

Sources

*Kimes, Beverly Rae and Clark Jr, Henry Austin. ''Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942'' (Third Edition). Iola, WI: Krause. 1996. {{ISBN, 0-87341-428-4 Car body styles Car classifications Highwheeler 1890s cars 1900s cars 1910s cars Veteran vehicles Brass Era vehicles