This car has been in the Crocker / Henderson family since new. Jennie Crocker was C.S. Henderson's grandmother and was the original owner. Bought from Mobile Carriage Co., $3280 + $11 for 1 pair 34 x 4 Weed chains, March 2, 1909, in San Francisco, CA. Restored in 1960. It was originally ordered new in 1909 as a "T" 4 passenger. The Museum has the original Bill of Sale and Invoice details.

Within months Jennie Crocker (age 22, living mostly in San Francisco and single) had the rear seats removed and a large trunk put in it's place as this was her personal car for doing things by herself in and around town. The family also had a 48 7 P Touring. After her 1912 marriage and then living in Palo Alto, she had it changed to the Runabout configuration for use in the then country community and had their driver take her into San Francisco in the 48 Limo. They also had a 66 Touring by 1913.

When restored in 1960 It was done as the "R" Runabout, but through three title transfers within the Family and now to the Museum it is still titled as "Model 24 T".

For additional information on Jennie Crocker see: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55765741/obituary-for-jennie-crocker-henderson/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templeton_Crocker

JENNIE’S MODEL 24 PIERCE-ARROW RUNABOUT

The Museum was recently gifted the 1909 Model 24-T Pierce Arrow, from the original purchaser’s family.  We are extremely grateful for this donation from Charlie Henderson of Amarillo, Texas, the grandson of Jennie Adeline Crocker. Jennie bought the car new for use in the San Francisco area, and left it to Charlie when she passed away in 1974.

This car was purchased from The Mobile Carriage Company of San Francisco for the sum of $3280, plus $11 for optional rear wheel chains.Although it came with the factory with 26 inch Johnson rims (factory 34 x 4 tire), she soon had it changed to 25 inch Firestone rims. The thought was that the smaller tires would help in climbing the steep San Francisco hills.

Jennie was not a tall person, standing around five foot even.  Thus, the Pierce required some slight modifications for her to operate it successfully.  First, four inch blocks of wood were attached to the pedals, so her short legs could reach them.  This resulted in virtually no wear being evident on the pedals. There was also a floor mounted horn bulb, but that had to be relocated to the side of the body so she could operate same.She did enjoy driving it, and particularly “motoring” (as she called it)at speed.  She soon became friends with numerous motorcycle police who observed her habit of ignoring speed limits, and paid numerous speeding tickets.

Originally a 24-T touring car, Jennie had it modified to a 24-R runabout when she married in 1912. After she married her first husband, she had two rear seats installed, to be able to carry his two children, Janetta and Malcolm Whitman Jr.Though the family bought other, larger, Pierce-Arrows during this time period, she kept the Model 24 to use as her personal car in and around San Francisco and for occasional country excursions.She apparently liked the smaller size and agility in the hilly area. It remained in the family, and though it fell into some disrepair, it was completely restored in the early 1960’s by Joe Morris in Los Altos, California.  It was taken to Pebble Beach in 1962 and took first in class, and the restoration has held up well over the years.

The Model 24 was the only four cylinder Pierce offered in 1909, and would be the last year Pierce ever offered a production car with a four cylinder powerplant.  It was thus the smallest offering in the Pierce catalog that year, riding on a 111 - 1/2 inch wheelbase.  Even with the smaller engine, performance was exceptional as “bodies were made almost altogether of cast aluminum.  We have used this metal for this purpose for the past six years, proving this to be altogether superior to wood or sheet metal.  All seats, on both runabouts and….touring cars, are of the individual type”.   The transmission “is of the selective type, with four forward speeds and reverse, the direct drive being on the fourth speed”.(quotes from 1909 Model 24 owner’s manual)

Of the approximately one hundred 1909 24 horsepower Pierce-Arrows built, only a handful remain today. The car was donated to the Museum by C.S. Henderson, Jennie's grandson. We are very fortunate to not only have this car as part of our Museum collection, but also to have a history of the runabout and owner since new.  This issue of the Great Arrow is dedicated to that history of both car and family.