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Tin Lizzie, an unusual name for a car, but then Henry Ford's Model T was no usual car. The name implies the personification of a machine, and Lizzie was much more than just a simple machine. The Model T represented affordable transportation, but it also represented independence, freedom to move on your own, at your own choice of time and speed. It was portable mechanical power. It was an extension of, a member of, the family. The T was a machine simple enough to be maintained and repaired with a screwdriver, pliers, wrenches and wire, yet fickle enough to make even the most mechanically adept wring his hands and curse.
Born of an age when all frugal Yankees were trouble shooters, problem solvers and defacto engineers, the Model T provided the perfect vehicle for mechanical creativity. Nowhere were the creations of tinkering and reconfiguration better exemplified than here in Maine. Lizzie saw service in virtually every vocation from humble family car to heroic fighter of fires, from serving peanuts to hauling iron on the narrow gauge; from plowing fields to harvesting ice, the Model T did it all, and did it well.
The Model T was built from 1908 to 1927; 15 million units, with dozens of body style choices. It was the most popular car in the world, the first produced on a moving assembly line, and at one point accounted for half of the cars in use worldwide. The legends and myths that surround the Model T are almost as numerous as old Lizzie herself. Few cars have been written about with such intimacy and passion. E.B. White, a Maine resident and Model T enthusiast himself, wrote one of the most appreciated and accurate descriptions of Lizzie in his essay, Farewell My Lovely. In a few short pages White manages to capture not only the essence of Lizzie, but also her personality.
This exhibition looks at only a few of the many faces of the famous Tin Lizzie. We see herein some of her predecessors, both mechanical and animal. She is seen here in her heyday, as the most popular car in the world, and in her dotage, so broken the whole found no further use and she was parted out and cannibalized, an organ donor to industry. All the while, remaining her, our beloved Lizzie.
Exhibits that are currently represented in "Tin Lizzie in Maine"
- 1903 Model A
- 1907 Model K
- 1907 Model S
- 1908 Model T
- 1914 Model T Touring
- 1918 American LaFrance Chemical Truck
- 1923 Cretors Popcorn Wagon
- 1925 Model T Beach Wagon
- 1925 TT Truck
- 1926 Model T Snomobile (White conversion)
- 1926 Ice Saw
- 1928 Worthington Tractor
- Model T Woodsaw Setup
- Model T Cutaway
This exhibition is generously sponsored by
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The Wright Brothers' historic flight of 1903 marked the dawn of new technologies that would allow us to navigate the oceans of air and build machines called automobiles to roll across continents. Thomas Edison harnessed electricity while Alexander Graham Bell gave us the telephone. Henry Ford and Ransom Olds manufactured thousands of autos to replace the horse and buggy while Glenn Curtiss carried forward where the Wrights left off. These men along with scores of others developed the stepping stones leading from the Old World to the one we live in today.
In Maine, because of topography, location and bad roads, river steamers and coastal schooners, railroads and even the horse and buggy still were the prime movers for several more decades. Even today Maine retains a flavor different from its neighbors thanks to its maritime heritage.
Exhibits that are currently represented in "A Century Ago":
Aircraft
- 1900 (ca.) Clark Ornithopter
- 1903 Wright Kitty Hawk Flyer (Reproduction)
Automobiles
- 1902 Curved Dash Olds
- 1903 Mercedes Simplex Tourer
- 1904 Stanley Model C Runabout
- 1906 Black Motor Buggy
- 1912 Woods Electric Brougham
Bicycles
- 1887 (ca.) Safety Bicycle
- 1898 Nichols Ladies Safety Bicycle
- 1885 Star Safety Highwheeler
Horse drawn
- 1850 (ca.) Portland Cutter
- c. unknown, Horse-drawn carriage
Nautical
- 1884 Steam Tug Robert A. Packer (model)
- 1898 Chase Recording Alarm Compass
- 1910 Knox Marine Engine
- 1912 Adirondack Guideboat
- 1912 Capital Marine Engine
Rail
- 1870 4-4-0 American Locomotive and Tender (Model)
- Boston and Maine Railroad (Model)
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