Roadometer in the Temple Square Museum.
believed to have appeared at the beginning of the bicycle and motorcar age, but early historical records indicate that the idea originated with one of the Mormon immigrants on his way by wagon caravan to Utah." This statement appeared in Fremont Alder's column in the San Francisco Call in March 1932. 1 Five months later, in a follow-up column on the same subject, Alder proceeded unknowingly to add fuel to a fire of misunderstanding which has puzzled historians of the Mormon westward movement for some time. He wrote that the measuring device "was invented by Orson Pratt, one of the followers of Brigham Young, when crossing the plains in 1846." 2 SPEEDOMETERS ARE COMMONLY
Mr. Stringham is an educator in Soldotna, Alaska. F r e m o n t Alder, "Origin and Invention of the Speedometer," San Francisco Call, March 1932. T h e term speedometer as used here refers to that part of the present car instrument used to record mileage traveled. Since its first use, the instrument developed on the trail in 1847 has been known as an odometer, roadometer, and speedometer. 2 Fremont Alder, "A Mormon's Strange Story," San Francisco Call, August 31, 1932.
