Friday 22nd August 1902

President Theodore Roosevelt became the first US chief executive to ride in a car. His first drive took place in Hartford, Connecticut. He took the first public automobile ride by a president during a parade at Hartford, Connecticut, in a Columbia electric car. In 1907, the Secret Service began to use two White steamers borrowed from the Army to shuttle visitors to and from the railroad station near his Oyster Bay, New York, home where he resided for the summers. While there was no official appropriation for this use, when Roosevelt used the cars on occasion, he became the first president to ride in a U.S. Government automobile. Overall, Roosevelt made known his preference for horses, and he always used horse and carriage for state purposes.