Exhibits | Collections - PERMANENT COLLECTION - Duryea Motor Trap - Peoria Riverfront Museum
HOURS and ADMISSION
Event Calendar and Tickets
Driving Directions
Map
Membership Swap Weekend | April 24-26
All-Illinois Student Access Pass
Achievement Passport
Access for All Days- Every Second Sunday!
Access for All Days | April 2026
Digital Guide to the Peoria Riverfront Museum
Christmas In The Village
ESI Student + Family Museum Fun Pass
Museum Store
Museum Store Sunday
American Decoy | The Book
Join | Renew Membership
Newsletter Sign-up
Museum Gift Cards
Tours & Field Trips
Field Trips
Community Solar System
Illinois New Deal Art Tour
Group Tours
Virtual Museum
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
Virtual Collections
Viewing Room | Virtual Tours
Exquisite Creatures
Exquisite Creatures: Patterns Alive
America 250: Celebrating America's 250th Birthday
The Promise of Liberty
Ken Burns: Guest Curator for America 250
America Forward: Jeanne Gang
Tour of The Promise of Liberty with Seth Kaller
Joyful Resistance
Athletes: A Peoria Plays America Exhibition
Deep Rivers / Long Roads | The Journey of America
A Peoria Plays America Exhibition: Fogelberg
TOYTOPIA
Louis XV Plate
Amethyst Gallery of Minerals
DURYEA: America's First Car Company
The Center for American Decoys
American Decoy | The Book
Bronzeville to Harlem | An American Story
Peoria Holocaust Memorial
Yom HaShoah | Holocaust Remembrance Day
Hallway Exhibitions
Forbes Biological Station: Celebrating 130 Years
Museum Green Tours
Donate an artifact or artwork
PERMANENT COLLECTION
Duryea Motor Trap
Sculpture Garden
Virtual Exhibitions
EXHIBITS
About the GST
Showtimes | Tickets
American Animation: Art on Screen
Art of Film
Fine Art Films
Kids Pix on the Giant Screen
Daily Documentaries
Community Pix
Film Society
Meet the World's Most Advanced Planetarium System!
PLANETARIUM SHOWTIMES
Laser Light Nights
Pub Night Under the Stars
Wine and Cheese Under the Stars
Yoga Under the Stars
Planet Passport Series
Interplanetary 5K Race
Community Solar System
Unnamed Comet Locations
Outreach
Rucker Family Science Teacher Program
Planetarium Newsletter
Infinite Wonder Podcast
Museum Conversations | Henry Diltz: Legendary Rock Photographer
-SOLD OUT
Museum Conversations: Christopher Marley
American Animation: Art on Screen
SENIOR DAY
Senior Morning
FREE DAYS
Bradley FUSE Interactive Experience 2026
Engineering Day 2026
Virtual Programming
Objectively Speaking | The Young Collectors
Hands-on at Home | Fun Art + Science Projects
Virtual Science Demos
All Events - Listing
Field Trips | Outreach Programs
Every Student Initiative
ESI Student + Family Museum Fun Pass
Recurring Programs
Chemistry Demonstrations with Bradley University's Chemistry Club
Science Treasure Hunt
I Hear America Singing- Both shows SOLD OUT
Newsletter Sign-up
Join | Renew Membership
Member Appreciation Day
Membership FAQ
Digital Membership Card
Reciprocal Programs
Member Saturdays
Member Saturday | FUSE
Every Student Initiative
Visionary Society
Matching Gifts
Corporate Members
Peoria Falcon Circle
Every Student Initiative
State of the Museum 2025
Fundraising Events
4th of July Backyard BBQ- Tickets go on sale May, 2026
Membership Swap Weekend
Nita Sunderland Tribute
Volunteer Opportunities
Board of Directors
Foundation Board of Directors
Museum Staff
President & CEO John Morris
Every Student Initiative
Our Story
Partners
Blue Star Museum
Museums for All
Leed Gold Certification
Accessibility in the Museum
Peoples Choice Awards
Museum News
Donation Requests
Volunteer Opportunities
Employment
Exhibits | Collections
Permanent Collection
Duryea Motor Trap
Exhibits | Collections
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
Virtual Collections
Viewing Room | Virtual Tours
Exquisite Creatures
Exquisite Creatures: Patterns Alive
America 250: Celebrating America's 250th Birthday
The Promise of Liberty
Ken Burns: Guest Curator for America 250
America Forward: Jeanne Gang
Tour of The Promise of Liberty with Seth Kaller
Joyful Resistance
Athletes: A Peoria Plays America Exhibition
Deep Rivers / Long Roads | The Journey of America
A Peoria Plays America Exhibition: Fogelberg
TOYTOPIA
Louis XV Plate
Amethyst Gallery of Minerals
DURYEA: America's First Car Company
The Center for American Decoys
American Decoy | The Book
Bronzeville to Harlem | An American Story
Peoria Holocaust Memorial
Yom HaShoah | Holocaust Remembrance Day
Hallway Exhibitions
Forbes Biological Station: Celebrating 130 Years
Museum Green Tours
Donate an artifact or artwork
PERMANENT COLLECTION
Duryea Motor Trap
Sculpture Garden
Virtual Exhibitions
EXHIBITS
Duryea Motor Trap
DURYEA MOTOR TRAP, 1898
Gift of Peoria Regional Museum Society 2012.12
Charles Duryea (1861-1938) | J. Frank Duryea (1869-1967)
The Street Gallery
Brothers Charles and J. Frank Duryea are credited as the first Americans to design, mass-produce and market a gasoline-powered car. Born in central Illinois, Charles Duryea was always interested in improving methods of transportation. He worked first on bicycles, partnering with Harry G. Rouse to design bicycles that they built in Massachusetts.
In 1891, Charles moved his family to Massachusetts and convinced his brother Frank to join them. The brothers began working on a compact gasoline engine. Charles returned to Peoria in 1892 to continue in the Rouse-Duryea Co. while Frank stayed behind to concentrate on the engine. In 1893, the Duryea brothers’ car started for the first time.
In 1898, Charles incorporated the Duryea Manufacturing Co. in present-day Peoria Heights and began manufacturing the Peoria Duryea Motor Trap. The driver used the single handle of this two-person car to steer the vehicle, shift gears and throttle the engine.
Charles planned to produce 100 Traps in one year, but financial difficulties and some unfortunate business decisions led to the closing of the company after only a few were completed.
The Peoria Riverfront Museum gratefully acknowledges our Duryea exhibit sponsor, the
Rucker Family Foundation
Peoria Riverfront Museum Curator of History & Registrar, Lottie Fiddes, takes you on a tour of the Duryea, America's first mass-produced and marketed gasoline-powered car.
Join Mike Rucker, our Duryea sponsor, who was instrumental in getting the Duryea back to Peoria, as he describes his experience and the history of the car. Peoria brothers Charles and J. Frank Duryea are credited as the first Americans to design, mass-produce and market a gasoline-powered car. In 1898, Charles incorporated the Duryea Manufacturing Co. in present-day Peoria Heights and began manufacturing the Peoria Duryea Motor Trap.