BY KRISTIN BEUSCHER
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—Spring weather is finally here! How about a drive?
In 1897, Edward H. Lyon purchased the first car in Englewood, shown above. Local newspapers made mention of his “horseless carriage.” One wrote, “It took Palisade hill at a greater speed than a horse could make.”
Lyon received a mention in the October 1897 edition of Horseless Age, a monthly automobile trade magazine of the era.
The article reads, “E.H. Lyon…who recently purchased a Duryea wagon, is very well pleased with his purchase. He has used it for several months in the neighborhood of his home, at Englewood, N.J., where the hills are steep, yet he has always found it easy to leave horses panting in the rear.”
Lyon is the older gentleman in the photo above. The metal bar going across his lap was actually a tiller that was used to steer the car. Tillers were used in the earliest motor cars before steering wheels became the standard.
In 1909 a group called the Englewood Automotive Club was founded and the city council authorized the group to use Dana Place as a location to experiment with different types of road surfaces. Lyon privately covered all the expenses.
In 1914, Lyon donated the first automobile ambulance to Englewood Hospital.
Lyon was the son of Dr. I.W. Lyon, a dentist who amassed sizeable wealth as the creator and owner of one of the first popular brands of tooth powder, a precursor to toothpaste. Edward Lyon was employed in his father’s business. Shown below is an 1891 advertisement for their product.
