A century ago, hundreds of people flocked to State and Third streets in Geneva to see the Thomas Flyer, with George N. Schuster at the wheel, pass through the city during the Great Automobile Race from New York to Paris.

The Geneva Republican was there to capture the excitement, boasting headlines from the Feb. 26 and 29, 1908, papers that read, “World Racing Autos will Go Through Geneva: Probably Pass Through Here Some Time Tomorrow” and “New York to Paris Auto Racer Was Here Yesterday.”

The Great Automobile Race was the first of its kind — an international competition between cars from the United States, Germany, France and Italy. Sponsored by the New York Times and La Matin of Paris, the race covered more than 22,000 miles and took 169 days to complete.

The New York to Paris race route went through New York City; Albany, N.Y.; Chicago; San Francisco; Seattle; Valdez, Alaska; Japan; Vladivostok, Omsk, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia; Berlin; and finally Paris. Automobiles drove across the frozen Bering Strait in the dead of winter in 1908.

To mark the anniversary, the Geneva History Center and the Concours d’Elegance are bringing Jeff Mahl to Geneva this weekend to portray his great-grandfather, Schuster, the winning driver of the legendary race with his “Reflections of the Winner” performance.

There will also be two race cars from the era available for viewing.

Dave Oberg, executive director at the Geneva History Center, credits archivist Ron Rawson for discovering that the racers had a pit stop in Geneva.

“If it wasn’t for Ron’s detective work, none of us would have known a thing about this,” Oberg said.

Oberg called the race a “groundbreaking event.”

“It really proved that the automobile was not a passing fad, but here to stay,” he said. “And we were a part of that history.”

The Geneva Concours d’Elegance event will include a black tie gala dinner Saturday Aug. 23, and European car show to benefit the American Diabetes Association Sunday Aug. 24.

Geneva resident Mary Agnes Zellmer, gala director, said the tie-in with the Great Automobile Race adds a new dimension to the event.

“It gives another good reason for families to come out to Geneva and spend the day at a phenomenal Concours,” she said.

Touted as the creme de la creme of all car shows, competitors are judged on the appearance of their automobiles.

The Geneva Concours d’Elegance (“Contest of Elegance”) will display museum-quality automobiles, whose owners are invited to participate based on the limited production and rare nature of their vehicles. Cars will receive scores by a panel of judges.

The show will include St. Charles resident John McConnaughay who will show his 1920 Pierce Arrow and another car.

The Pierce Arrow has been in McConnaughay’s family for several generations.

“My grandfather originally owned the car,” he said. “He started me on cars.”

Saturday night’s dinner will be held at 6 p.m. at Isabella’s Estiatorio, 330 W. State St. The evening will feature live and silent auctions, with items for both the car enthusiast and philanthropic supporter.

Tickets to the dinner are $200 per person.

For information, call (630) 479-8116.

Sunday’s event starts with vehicle registration at 7 a.m., followed by judging at 9 a.m. The car show on South Third Street is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The awards presentation will be at 3 p.m.