About this collection
The Images
The Inland Automobile Association photograph collection consists of digitized prints from a photo album created by the association's secretary, Frank W. Guilbert. As part of an effort to promote tourism by automobile, the Inland Automobile Association participated in the 1916 National Parks Highway Association trip from Chicago to Mount Rainier National Park. Guilbert documented the 3,100 mile journey in detail, from the start on Lake Michigan in Chicago to the boundary of Mount Rainier National Park. The images show typical small towns, rural road conditions, and vehicles encountered.
Historical and Biographical Note
The Inland Automobile Association (IAA) is headquartered in Spokane, Washington. It maintains an affiliation with the American Automobile Association (AAA). During the early 1900s, the IAA joined with other persons and groups to promote motor transportation and improved highways. One of the concepts aggressively promoted was automobile tourism. A series of trips were organized between 1912 and 1916 by the National Parks Highway Association. Frank W. Guilbert (1872 - 1940), the secretary of the IAA, was a participant on the 1916 trip designed to publicize the scenery along the route. A scrapbook of photographs documenting the trip was filed with the Inland Automobile Association. The images in this digital collection are all taken from the scrapbook of this 1916 trip.
The Archival Collection
The Inland Automobile Association Records were donated to the Archives & Special Collections at EWU by the association in 1974. They include records of the Spokane County Good Roads Association, correspondence, and newspaper clippings in addition to the photographs viewable in this digital collection. Online finding aid available: http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv11444.
