In 1899, the United States Congress passed legislation creating Mount Rainier National Park. While many early visitors arrived by train, it soon became park policy to build a system of automobile roads so that a majority of visitors could see the park without leaving their cars. In 1911, people could drive from Longmire Springs to Nisqually Glacier if they bought a permit from the park superintendent.

In this photo, taken around 1910, a visitor to Mount Rainier National Park sits in a Flanders automobile under the entrance gate at Longmire Springs. The speed limit in the park ranged from 6 to 15 miles per hour, and drivers had to honk their horns at each curve in the road to alert oncoming horses and automobiles.