Early in 1901, George Hendee, ex-bicycle racer turned manufacturer, and Oscar Hedström, who designed and built motorised pacer bicycles, signed a partnership agreement to develop a prototype motor bicycle.
By 1892, Hendee had retired from racing and began making bicycles at the Hendee & Nelson Manufacturing Company in Springfield, Massachusetts. The company went bankrupt; Hendee purchased the entire inventory at auction and incorporated the Hendee Manufacturing Company. The company’s new line of bicycles was called Indian.
Hedström’s own company, Worcester Cycle Manufacturing, located in Middletown, Connecticut was in receivership by this time but as part of the agreement with Hendee, the premises and machinery were leased for him to create the new prototype.
Tests were conducted in Middletown and on this day on 1901, Hedström arrived in Springfield with the very first Indian.
The launch of Hedström’s motor bicycle took place on Saturday 1st June at the Cross Street hill in Springfield where a reporter at the scene described a crowd of 400-500 people watching as he rode his machine up the 19-percent grade of the loose-gravel street with power to spare.