This was the most popular early car manufactured exclusively in the City of St. Louis, which was also home to about 100 various makes of cars. The St. Louis motorcar was constructed through the engineering genius of George P. Dorris, vice president of the company. His car was able to run reliably (by the standards of that day) with sufficient power to conquer most hills and muddy roads. The HCCM c
hose the St. Louis motorcar for its logo due to obvious reasons just mentioned. Also, its use reflects the early influence of Mr. Dorris, who was one of the five founders of the club (December 1944). He remained active up to his death (his obituary notice ran in the newspaper on Nov. 3, 1968). He lived to be 94. His descendents are involved with the HCCM and bring old St. Louis motorcars to select events. Who We Are: We were founded in 1944, it is one of the oldest surviving car clubs in the world. Most likely we are best know for our annual Easter Concours d' Elegance held in Forest Park. We hold monthly meetings usually on the 3rd Friday of the month at 7:30pm. They are usually held at Logan Chiropractic College located 1851Schoettler Road (for directions see our "Contact Us" page). We are a very active club with various organized events, swap meets, parades, car shows and unlimited restoration resources. Membership is only $25.00 per year; come visit and consider joining us. Please visit our Membership page for more details. Our History: In 1944, the year the Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri was founded, the clouds of war still hung over Europe and Japan. Many of the pre-early 1940s cars went the way of the scrap heap and then the smelter. It was a sad ending for many prestigious and fine motorcars. Still, some folks had put cars away in barns and long-forgotten garages. However, there were few "car collectors" and aficionados at the time. Cars were considered transportation and purely utilitarian. Besides, with a war on, there was little focus on preserving what we now would consider antique and classic vehicles. Surprisingly though, in St. Louis, there were a group of individuals that began to meet to discuss cars and reminisce about the good old days -- the days of four wheels and no brakes! Many of these individuals had ties to the automotive world since St. Louis was, for a time, the automotive capital of the United States. For years we were then second only to Detroit. The early founders of HCCM amounted to five men and that list included George P. Dorris, Alex Deeken, Harry Rook, Wayne Bledsoe, and Frank Steward. All were automotive pioneers. We trace our beginnings back to December 5th, 1944. That's when the small group of folks who used to gather informally to discuss cars and periodically do "Brass Era" tours decided to become an organized body. The HCCM is the oldest regional club of its type in America. We are also the oldest region affiliated with the Horseless Carriage Club of America. By 1962 there were 75 "member families" in the HCCM. That was a lot back then and the club dominated the regional vintage car scene. 1962 was the year that the Easter Concours d'Elegance was born. This is what gave the Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri a public face. Ever since, no other antique car show in the Greater St. Louis area has held such appeal to the public for so many decades. It is a legendary tradition. What caused the change and why did "old" cars suddenly have an appeal. People have fond memories of the past -- the legends of the silver screen immortalized the automobile with greats such as Harlow, West, Gable, Garland and others. History has a way of guilding even the worst of times. The dust bowl depression years of the 30s bring forth memories especially in novels like John Steinbeck's, The Grapes of Wrath, of the exodus west on Route 66. The essence of the freewheeling and roaring 20s was captured by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby. There's a certain nostalgic appeal to each era. The 50s spawned movie legends such as James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. We saw cars like the 1957 Chevy, the 1959 "Tail-fin" Cadillac, the Corvette and the 1957 T'Bird emerge. The 60s "age of uncertainty" brought us Mustangs, Firebirds and "flower power" VWs and even " Ralph Nader" Corvairs. In the 70s we saw Detroit quality slip way down with the Mustang II, Pintos, Vegas and other rather non-descript " cookie- cutter" cars yet there were still some notables such as the Cadillac Eldorados and a few muscle cars. The Horseless Carriage Club lives on. We don't see as many "Brass Era" cars as we would like, but the old timers who seem to own the majority of these cars are well getting really old are have passed away. Going back to our first Easter Concours in 1962 we saw a number of "Acetylene Era (Pre-1913) cars. There was Don Carretti with his 1911 Buick touring, N. McClure with a 1912 Ford and Ross Steiner with an 1897 Holdermann. In Vintage Class (1913-1919), there was Wally Nutter in his freshly restored 1913 Maxwell, Bill Robards in his 1918 Hupmobile and many others. Now we see a lot of cars from the 60s and 70s. Even the 50s cars are getting somewhat scarce. Our Motto is "Rigs That Run," and they certainly do. Most of us drive our antique and classic cars and most of these fine automobiles get personal attention under the hood. We are "hands-on" folks and enjoy the pleasure of "getting greasy" as we explore a bit of history that will give great satisfaction. Many People have different reasons for joining the Horseless Carriage Club. We love to socialize, yet we love to drive our cars and work on them. We rarely miss a parade of charitable event. It is always fun to share a piece of history with someone else. We serve to inform and educate about this marvelous hobby. Membership: $25 Annually
