About the Museum
In its humble beginnings, the Friends of Towing displayed the Hall of Fame and Museum in a semi-trailer and drove it to and from towing and recovery industry trade shows across the country. In 1995, when it came time to settle down in one permanent location, the organization decided on the scenic city of Chattanooga, TN. Chattanooga had been credited as the birthplace of the tow truck thanks to inventor Ernest Holmes Sr. Holmes and his son Ernest Holmes Jr. would go on to establish a major towing manufacturer named the Ernest Holmes Company. Today the museum has evolved from the Friends of Towing into the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum.
The International Towing Museum is the only place in the world that offers a close encounter with a tow truck that is actually fun, positive, and nostalgic.
About Ernest Holmes Sr.
Ernest Holmes Sr. is credited with inventing the first U.S. tow truck. His idea resulted from helping a friend retrieve his Model T out of a ditch. Holmes modified a 1913 Cadillac to pull cars and transport them to his garage by affixing an iron chain, a pulley and several poles to the back of his Cadillac. Holmes quickly patented his invention, and thus the U.S. towing industry was born. He spent the next two years theorizing and forming a concrete idea, filing his patent on January 17, 1918.
The basis for Ernest Holmes Sr.’s patents was the unique concept of having a “split-boom” wrecker that could anchor the truck on one side and retrieve from the other side without tilting the wrecker. This was especially useful when a wrecked vehicle was down a steep embankment.
The International Towing Museum is the only place in the world that offers a close encounter with a tow truck that is actually fun, positive, and nostalgic.
Museum Hours of Operation:
Gallery Tours
Mon – Sun: 9:00 – 4:30
Gift Shop Hours
Mon – Sun: 9:00 – 5:00
ITRHFM will be Closed on these Holidays:
Easter Sunday, July 4th, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day
Admission:
Adults – $10.00
Seniors (55 or older) – $9.00
Military – $8.50
AAA – $8.50
Children 6 – 14 – $6.00
Children under 5 are free.
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Mission Statement
The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc, is dedicated to:
A. Recording the history of our industry through the publication of books, periodicals and historical records and other documents which can be viewed in our on-site library.
B. Collecting and restoring and displaying the artifacts and memorabilia of our industry through our ongoing Museum Program.
C. Providing an Information Center (the “Museum”) for the enlightenment of the general public regarding the many valuable contributions to society, worldwide, made by the towing and recovery industry. The towing and recovery industry serves the public by towing or removing damaged, disabled, abandoned, seized, repossessed or impounded vehicles from highway or other place by means of a wrecker boom, hoist, tow bar, tow line, dolly tilt bed, or other similar means of vehicle transfer without its own power or control.
D. Honoring those persons who have made unselfish and significant contributions to our industry in particular, or to mankind in general by induction into the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and/or by recognition through other means.
E. Honoring those persons who have lost their lives in the line of service to our industry by enshrining those names upon the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum’s Wall of the Fallen.
F. Providing financial support to the families of those persons who have lost their lives in the line of service to our industry by providing a method through which those families receive a financial gift from the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum’s Survivor Fund.
MUSEUM CONTACT INFO
The International Towing & Recovery
Hall of Fame & Museum
3315 Broad Street
Chattanooga, TN 37408
(423) 267-3132
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Featured Exhibits
Our exhibits intrigue young and old alike. With 24 tow trucks in our showroom, ranging from 1913 to 2002– we offer a look into the past for history fans, and a timeline of progress for automotive enthusiasts.
Our goal is to continue expanding our exhibits, giving you, our visitors, a reason to return year after year. We are a great spot for school trips, car clubs, bus tours or just a fun family outing”.
