In 1903, the US had 2.3 million miles of roads — and exactly 150 of them were paved, all within cities. The rest were rutted, muddy, and barely passable on a horse, let alone in a car.
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At 7:00 · chapter starts 5:30
To understand why a cross-country car trip in 1903 was considered borderline insane, Josh and Chuck lay out the numbers: the United States had 2.3 million miles of roads, of which a mere 150 were paved — all of them in big cities [1] — Josh "150 of 2.3M road miles paved: In 1903, out of 2.3 million miles of roads in the United States, only 150 miles were paved, and all of those …" 07:17 . The rest were rutted, dusty, muddy tracks barely suitable for horses. There were approximately 14 million horses in the country and around 8,000 cars. The average American rarely ventured more than a few miles from home. Long-distance travel meant the train; local travel meant the horse. Even east of the Mississippi, where maps and guidebooks existed, directions were given by landmarks ('Turn right at the old stone horse trough'), because roads had no names or numbers. Out west, there were essentially no maps at all. Cars were expensive — the cheapest cost more than the average American's annual wage — and widely considered a fad that would never displace the horse or the train.
The cheapest car available in the early 1900s cost more than the average American made in an entire year, making cars exclusively rich-person toys.
In 1903, out of 2.3 million miles of roads in the United States, only 150 miles were paved, and all of those were within big cities.
In 1903, the US had about 14 million horses compared to just 8,000 cars, illustrating how marginal automobiles were at the time.
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