The Schoharie Colonial Heritage Association will host the Franklin Car Club and its classic autos on Wednesday, July 31.
Club members will be traveling with more than 30 vintage Franklin automobiles and will be visiting historic sites in the Village of Schoharie and beyond.
They will be located on Depot Lane and Main Street, from about 10:30am till 3pm. The public is welcomed to stop by and see the cars.
Club members will also be driving to the Old Stone Fort, the 1743 Palatine House Museum, the Schoharie Valley Railroad Museum and the Doctor Best House in Middleburgh.
The HH Franklin Automobile Company was founded in Syracuse in 1902 and produced cars until 1934. Franklin cars are unique because they are all air-cooled.
All Franklins until 1928 had wood frames because of wood’s light weight and flexibility.
To produce a smooth ride, Franklins used full elliptic springs, such as those used by buggies in the horse-drawn carriage days.
Franklins were mid-priced cars competing with Buicks and the lower-priced Packards.
Doctors in colder climates preferred Franklins because they didn’t have to worry about radiators freezing––because there were no radiators.
The HH Franklin Club was founded in the 1950s by a group of Franklin owners who wanted to keep the spirit alive and to share stories and arts as well as have a good time.
The Franklin Club is a driving club in that members would rather drive their cars than have them judged in a show.
Each year the club has annual meet called a Trek. For more than 50 years, it was held at Cazenovia College, located near Syracuse, but the college recently closed.
The trek is now headquartered at Union College in Schenectady.
Most days of the week that the Trek is held, the members drive their Franklins to different local sites, and this time, it’s the Schoharie Valley.
Club members are located throughout the US, Canada, and also oversees. For their Schoharie visit, the club expects members from as far as Florida, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, New England, Virginia, Maryland, California and Canada.
The oldest Franklin coming will be a 1906, and the newest is a 1933.
The Trek starts on the 27th and runs through August 3.