The Fawick Flyer at The Old Courthouse Museum
The Old Courthouse Museum at Siouxland Heritage Museum is not a car museum. The building is actually the first Minnehaha County Courthouse built in 1889. By its completion in 1893, it became the largest courthouse between Chicago and Denver.
The building has three floors you can explore for free and offers all you would expect from a courthouse built in the late 1800s.
However, it’s what you would not expect to see in an old courthouse that makes it worthy of mentioning in the Automotive Museum Guide.
Located on the main floor of the courthouse near the stairs you find a 1908 Fawick Flyer. This car was built by 19-year-old Thomas Fawick. It was Thomas’ first 4-cylinder model capable of transporting 5 passengers with a top speed of 60 mph. Keep in mind the speed limit of the day was 7 mph and 4 mph around corners.
The car was originally called the Silent Sioux but was later renamed the Fawick Flyer. It was estimated Thomas drove this car over 125,000 miles before it went on exhibit in his museum in Cleveland, Ohio.
In 1955 the car was restored to its current “like new” condition by Thomas Fawick and donated to the Siouxland Heritage Museums in 1987.
If you find yourself in the area visiting the Old Courthouse Museum will be worth if anything, just to see this amazing piece of automotive history.
200 W 6th St
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
P: 605-367-4210
Email: museum@minnehahacounty.org
Old Courthouse Museum Admission:
Free
Plan: 1hr
Old Courthouse Museum Hours:
Image via Scott Cobb
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