Horseless Carriage Club to tour Bainbridge Island roadways

The Portland Regional Group of the Horseless Carriage Club of America will tour Bainbridge Island with about 35 vintage automobiles on Tuesday, July 23.

But these aren’t your grandfathers’ Oldsmobiles.

The earliest vehicle in the group will reportedly be a 1909 Kissel, while the oldest — but modern, by the club’s standards — is a 1931 Ford.

Most of the cars are from the 1910s and 1920s, representing such classic makes as Pullman, Case, Haynes, Premier and Abbott, as well as more familiar names like Cadillac and Buick.

“It’s a rolling museum,” said Gary Harris, a Bainbridge Island resident who will be driving a 1913 Overland.

The tour will stop in Fort Ward for about an hour at 9:30 a.m., and then proceed to the First Baptist Church on Madison Avenue, near the Highway 305 intersection, for a luncheon.

They’ll travel north for an hour-long stop at Bloedel Reserve in the afternoon before the cars return to the Point Casino near Kingston, where they can be viewed through the evening.

Because of the cars’ comparatively low speeds, drivers will stick to the island’s side roads and avoid the highway where possible, though slight traffic delays may occur.

The three-day tour will also take the club to Port Townsend and Keyport.