Swope’s Cars of Yester Year
Sixty magnificent machines of the past
A free museum of vintage and antique automobiles in Elizabethtown, Kentucky — from the 1910 Brush Roadster to the 1970 Cobra Torino.
See the collection Take the virtual tour
No admission charge 10 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Saturday 53 vehicles on the floor
Swope Museum
Welcome to the Swope Auto Museum, home to an impressive collection of vintage and antique cars. Our museum, Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear, allows you to take a tour of different eras, from the early 1900s to the 1960s. Our museum features vehicles of all makes and models.
How much does it cost?
The Swope Auto Museum is owned and operated by the Swope Family of Dealerships, open to the public with no admission charge. You won’t find a “suggested donation box” either — our museum is completely free. We welcome all to come and enjoy, a way of expressing our appreciation for the sixty years that the Swope Family of Automobile Dealerships has been embraced by the Kentucky community.
Hours and tours
The museum is open from 10 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Saturday. A knowledgeable hostess is on duty to greet you and give guided tours. The Swope Museum offers ample tour bus and RV parking. The museum is air-conditioned and is handicapped accessible. Don’t miss our vintage car library and a do-it-yourself car video theater! Cameras are permitted.
Cars for sale
Full inventory ›The museum is not selling its collection. Vehicles that have left the floor — and listings from fellow collectors — are offered here.
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1965 CHEVROLET CAPRICE FOR SALE
$30,000
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1925 Dodge Roadster
$33,000
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1925 Ford Model T
$35,000
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1937 DeSoto Business Coupe
$35,000
How the Swope vintage collection came to be
It was May 8, 1945, and Bill Swope was a young soldier fighting with the United States Army in Germany when the cheering started — Germans, Americans, soldiers and civilians alike. The war in Europe was over. After V-E day Bill came home, married his college sweetheart Elizabeth Sanford, and, after Japan surrendered, finished his schooling at Miami University of Ohio.
Selling building materials out of Cincinnati, he found he was far more interested in his company car than in anything he was selling. So the family moved to Winchester, Kentucky, where he opened his first dealership — a Dodge/Plymouth store on Main Street. Sixty years of Swope dealerships followed, and the collection grew alongside them.