Vigo County Historical Society

Terre Haute’s first bicycle in 1882 brought people together

The first bicycle in Terre Haute was reported to have been ridden by Charles Bauer in 1882. Soon, many young men in the area took up the sport of wheeling for both recreational and competitive purposes.

Its appeal brought together those of like interests and soon groups banded together to form bicycle clubs. Perhaps the most prominent of these was the Wabash Cycling Club, organized in 1892 by Fred G. Heinl, John S. Cox and C. Urban. This became the local chapter of the national League of American Wheelman.

The story goes that a group of young men were sitting in front of Rudolph Gundelfinger’s store at 722 Wabash idly watching the paving of that thoroughfare. As usual, the topic of wheeling came up and the group went inside the store, sat on paving blocks from Main Street and launched the idea of forming a club for "good fellowship, good races, and good roads."

At the time the club was organized there were 40 members, which increased to more than 150.

Members of the Wabash Cycling Club were intent on bicycling but social activities were important too. They met in various business locations, but finally acquired a building at 711-713 Wabash Ave. There the rooms consisted of a reception room, a billiard room, a card room and a reading room. They were said to be beautifully furnished and decorated.

Club members distinguished themselves in riding competition locally, statewide and nationally. For several years an annual run was made to Rockville with 850 riders taking part.

In 1896, the League of American Wheelman state meet took place in Terre Haute with great success.

In 1893 and ‘94, Anton Hulman won several cups for the state championship. The following year, he entered both the state and national meets and won in each. By 1897, he held all except one of the League of American Wheelman State Champion cups, and that one was held by his brother Herman. Herman Hulman’s time of 2 minutes, 51 seconds nearly matched the world’s mile record of 2:35.

The Wabash Cycling Club remained active for 16 years. The final picnic of the club took place on Aug. 12, 1908, at Elm Grove Park. In that year, there were more than 9,000 bicycles in the city.

Bicycle riding was so popular that parades were conducted on Wabash Avenue and large crowds turned out. In the photograph, cyclists are participating in a bicycle parade in 1900.

Photographs from the museum’s collection are available to the public for research.