Overview
Join the Siouxland Heritage Museums for food, drinks, and bikes at the exhibit opening reception at the Old Courthouse Museum. Admission is free. Sponsored by the Siouxland Heritage Museums Alliance.
By the late nineteenth century, bicycling was an established pastime and competitive activity throughout the world. As the bicycle gained in popularity, innovative entrepreneurs developed new technologies to improve riding. One offshoot of these efforts was the attempt to motorize bicycles. Some of the first motorcycles in the United States were made by Waltham Manufacturing Company in 1899, adapting a heavyweight roadster bicycle to fit a small engine imported by the Aster company of France under the name Orient-Aster. Many other companies followed suit, including Indian, Harley-Davidson, and Excelsior. A legitimate motorcycle industry was booming in the United States, with nearly 100 makers building their own bikes prior to the market crash of 1929. Today, motorcycles are produced for leisure, touring, racing, and the military.