ELLENSBURG, Wash.-An 118-year-old electric vehicle will take part in the Ellensburg Rodeo Parade on Saturday, September 2 as part of the 100th anniversary of the Ellensburg Rodeo.
The 1905 Columbia Electric Victoria-Phaeton has a 1.5 horsepower electric motor run by 24 deep-cycle batteries, with the battery power monitored through a gauge on the floor.
The Victoria-Phaeton had a top speed of 15 miles per hour and could go about 40 miles between charges and originally sold for $1,350 according to a press release from Puget Sound Energy (PSE) which maintains the car in Ellensburg.
Manufactured in Hartford, Connecticut, the Victoria-Phaeton has been on a long road through history on its way to the Rodeo Parade in Ellensburg.
James Melton, a well-known singer from the 1920’s through the 1940’s was the original owner of the car, who bought it for his wife to use around the Connecticut countryside.
According to PSE’s press release the car was purchased by Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller in 1960, who showcased the Victoria-Phaeton in his Museum of Automobiles until it was sold in 1975 after Rockefeller’s death.
The car then became part of casino tycoon William Harrah’s collection in Reno, Nevada until his death in 1978.
The Holiday Corporation purchased many of Harrah’s cars and auctioned them off and Ellensburg resident Howard Sorensen bought the Victoria-Phaeton in 1982 and restored it. Sorensen’s grandson will drive the car in the Rodeo Parade.
Sorensen donated the car to the Kittitas County Historical Museum in 2000 and the vehicle is now on display at the Wildhorse Renewable Energy Center in Ellensburg.