Western Women: She was 'running like a flash' in 1910 car race

From 1907 through 1914, the 500-mile Los Angeles to Phoenix auto race, sometimes referred to as the Cactus Derby, was held annually.

Cars competed for prize money and the glory of having the fastest car on the road, although there were few paved highways across the desert at the time.

Men fine-tuned their vehicles and headed across the desert on a grueling, dust-choking ride that could last over 30 hours.

In conjunction with this competition, the Prescott Auto Club organized the Arizona Gazette Cup auto race, an in-state competition that started in Prescott and ended 110 miles away in downtown Phoenix.

Local drivers were attracted, proudly boasting their spruced-up vehicles could outrun any car in Arizona. Men lined up to participate on a route that utilized old stagecoach trails and often nonexistent pathways to the state Capitol. It was a rough, tough drive.

A slight drizzle the day before the Nov. 6, 1910 race left Prescott's streets glistening at a cool 30-degree temperature. Eighteen cars lined up along Cortez Street around 6:30 a.m. and were staggered to leave at five-minute intervals.

Men clapped each other on the back and joked about who would be the slowest or who would get stuck in the ever-drifting sand. All expected their cars to make it the entire distance.

One motorist stood out among the crowd. Twenty-eight-year-old Harriett Southworth climbed into her two-year-old Ford and waited for the signal to head out.

Whether a woman had ever driven in the race is unknown, and very little is mentioned about Harriett's participation.

But she was on a mission to show the citizens of Arizona that women could compete on an even par with men when it came to driving these fairly new-fangled machines.

Harriett may have been the proud owner of a 20- horsepower Model T Ford since it had rolled off the assembly line just two years earlier in 1908.

Born in 1882 in Chicago, Illinois, Harriett married Dr. Harry Thomas Southworth in 1902. The couple settled in Prescott, where their son, Harry, was born in 1904. Three years later, Harriett was racing down the road toward Phoenix.

Rules of the race were straightforward. The driver had to be a resident of Yavapai County and carry at least one passenger. Cars, along with all passengers, were weighed. The car had to run under its own power.

Courtesy on the road was emphasized: "When any car in the race approaches within 100 feet of the one ahead and desires to pass, and signals this desire by two honks, the car in front must turn to the right giving half the road and allow it to pass, the passing car must pass to the left."

Vehicles of 20 horsepower were given a 55-minute handicap over the more powerful 40-horsepower cars. Harriett's 20-horsepower Ford was not the only one allowed this advantage. Along with several other Fords, a plethora of diverse autos vied for the prize: Buicks, Cadillacs, Reos, Premiers, Stearns, Regals, Stoddard-Daytons and Overlands.

One man ensconced his entire family of five in his car. Harriett chose to have one passenger — her husband, Harry.

Drivers were given their lineup numbers several days in advance of the race and could trade their positions until the roster was announced just a few days before the start.

A Nov. 2 in Prescott's "Weekly Journal Miner" detailed the route and mentioned several of the drivers. Harriett's name was not among them.

The cars started out sputtering along one of the old stage lines headed for Humboldt, then on to Mayer, Cordes, Black Canyon and New River before descending into the Valley of the Sun, their destination — the Arizona Gazette newspaper office on Adams Street.

The roads were considered well maintained for the race, although Arizona had few covered highways in 1910. Even by 1929, only 300 miles of paved roads existed in the state.

Most of the vehicles suffered with issues ranging from blown-out tires, broken axles and an assortment of parts flying off as drivers maneuvered over chuck holes and deeply rutted thoroughfares.

One man broke his knuckle while a car with several women passengers hit a bump so large the whole gang was lifted out of the car but managed to land safely back in their seats.

No word on what damages Harriett's car suffered, but almost all of the vehicles limped into Phoenix with missing parts.

One reporter noted that as Harriett raced east of Lynx Creek she was "running like a flash ... Dr. Southworth holding to the machine with one hand and with the other was keeping his wife in position on the seat as she held the wheel with her two hands."

As she rolled into Phoenix, Harriett recorded a time of 6 hours, 33 minutes. Another vehicle actually arrived earlier but the driver was penalized for not leaving Prescott at his allotted time, leaving Harriett to attain the prize. Only nine cars finished out of the 18 that started the race.

Both the Prescott-to-Phoenix and Los Angeles-to-Phoenix race winners were honored a few days later at a gala hosted by the Maricopa County Automobile Club with trophies and prize money awarded. Harriett was not mentioned as being at the celebration. Instead, her husband, Harry, accepted the winning cup on her behalf.

Although the club recognized Harriett as winner of the race, it may be the organization was for men only or only men could attend the celebration.

The "Arizona Republic" in its report of the race also failed to mention Harriett by name, although it did announce that "the victor was a woman, the wife of Dr. H.F. Southworth."

Along with her driving skills, Harriett also had a passion for the theater. Through the years, she directed several plays around the state while both she and her husband acted in performances at Prescott's Elks Opera House.

Her daughter, Dorothy, born in 1915, inherited her mother's interest in the theater. Dorothy acted in a long list of Hollywood movies from 1938 until 1941, when she married cowboy actor and singer Tex Ritter. She had two sons, one of whom was television performer John Ritter.

Seventy-eight-year-old Harriett died on Oct. 31, 1960. She is buried in Prescott's Mountain View Cemetery.

Jan Cleere is the author of several historical nonfiction books about the early people of the Southwest. Website: www.JanCleere.com .

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