Let’s remember when the first car showed up in Seattle, on this day in 1900 (July 23)

Seattle seen from Rizal Park; Photo by Ron Clausen.

Seattle traffic can be traced back exactly 119 years ago.

HistoryLink tells it:

On July 23, 1900, an automobile travels on Seattle’s streets for the first time. It had passed through Tacoma, which gave that city its first sight of an auto as well. Ralph S. Hopkins (ca. 1871–1923), “a capitalist,” is the owner of the three-horsepower Woods Electric auto.

When Woods Motor Vehicle Company produced this vehicle in 1899, there were only 4,000 automobiles in the United States. The company continued manufacturing this electric-powered motorcar until 1919, making it one of the longest-produced electric-powered autos in the United States.

Source:

First automobile arrives in Seattle on July 23, 1900.