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Ted and Celeste Bowers are the owners of a 1911 Pope-Hartford that once belonged to Philo Grant of St. Helena.
The 50-horsepower engine of the 1911 Pope-Hartford boasts polished brass fittings.
The gas side lamp of a 1911 Pope-Hartford.
The odometer reads 352,452, but the actual mileage of the 1911 Pope-Hartford touring car owned by Ted and Celeste Bowers is unknown.
Ted and Celeste Bowers leave the St. Helena Historical Society's Heritage Center Monday in their 1911 Pope-Hartford.
The 1911 Pope-Hartford hearkens back to the era of "horseless carriages."
ST. HELENA — Possessing style for days, the 1911 Pope-Hartford once chauffeured visitors and locals around the upper Napa Valley.
A century later — and still looking as dandy as ever — the luxurious seven-passenger touring car once again rolled through downtown St. Helena earlier this week, catching admiring eyes and telling a story of local history in the early days of “horseless carriages.”
The car once belonged to Philo Grant, whose St. Helena-based Grant’s Auto Stage Line once boasted a fleet of 27 vehicles, including school buses and an ambulance.
Equipped with brass fittings, the 1911 Pope-Hartford was one of only 693 manufactured by the Pope Motor Car Co., which left the automotive business a few years later.
“It’s a fantastic car — even back then it would have been a thrill to drive,” said its current owner Ted Bowers.
Companies like Grant’s thrived in the days when most people didn’t have their own car or a driver’s license, which California started requiring in 1913.
Even back then, the Pope-Hartford stood out for its luxury and refinement. It sold for $3,250 new, equivalent to about $100,000 today and almost five times the price of a Ford Model T.
With a maximum speed of 80 mph, the Pope-Hartford’s 50-horsepower engine was strong enough to climb Howell Mountain with ease at a time when visitors flocked to Aetna Springs Resort for rest and recreation.
Bowers said the Prest-O-Lite acetylene gas headlamps had to be manually lit with a match, although they've been modified to run on electricity.
“When you turn them on, you light straight down the road, but you also light the tops of the trees,” he said.
After Grant sold the car in the mid-1940s, it passed through a series of owners, including the casino magnate Bill Harrah, who restored it twice and took it on various tours. After Harrah died, it changed hands a few more times and was restored at least once before its current owners, Ted and Celeste Bowers of Huntington Beach, bought it in 2020.
As part of its latest tour, the car arrived Monday afternoon at the St. Helena Historical Society’s Heritage Center. Among those on hand to greet it were the Sharpsteen family, who once owned a nearly identical Pope-Hartford that had also belonged to Grant.
You can reach Jesse Duarte at (707) 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com.
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Jesse has been a reporter for the St. Helena Star since 2006. He became editor in 2021.
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Look for big changes to a downtown St. Helena storefront as Orin Swift Cellars prepares to expand its tasting room into the former Bottle Shop on Main Street.
Ted and Celeste Bowers are the owners of a 1911 Pope-Hartford that once belonged to Philo Grant of St. Helena.
The 50-horsepower engine of the 1911 Pope-Hartford boasts polished brass fittings.
The gas side lamp of a 1911 Pope-Hartford.
The odometer reads 352,452, but the actual mileage of the 1911 Pope-Hartford touring car owned by Ted and Celeste Bowers is unknown.
Ted and Celeste Bowers leave the St. Helena Historical Society's Heritage Center Monday in their 1911 Pope-Hartford.
The 1911 Pope-Hartford hearkens back to the era of "horseless carriages."
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