Steve and Brenda Rinaldo of Marietta stand with their 1910 Ford Model T on the courthouse square Friday. The Rinaldos were part of the Deep South Reliability Tour that brought about 60 cars made from 1915 and earlier to Moultrie.

Moultrians got a glimpse of an earlier time Friday as about 60 cars built in 1915 or before rumbled into downtown and parked around the courthouse square.

The Antique Automobile Cars of America brought its Deep South Reliability Tour to Moultrie Friday morning. The tour has been going on all week, and Tour Chairman Steve Gordon said the group has visited Wakulla Springs State Park in Florida, Madison, Fla., the Tallahassee Antique Car Museum and the Cairo Antique Car Museum. The group visited Barwick before coming to downtown Moultrie and the Maule Industries plant then planned to hold a banquet in Thomasville before returning home.

Gordon said almost 70 cars began on the tour, coming from all over the country. Cars were brought in from California, Nebraska, Canada, the Midwest, the Northeast, Louisiana, North Carolina and Georgia. The tour also has two tow trucks accompanying the cars in case one breaks down.

Some of the makes bore familiar names — Ford, Buick, Cadillac and Dodge — but others were whispers from a bygone era — Cole, Witchell, EMF, Hudson, Chalmers, Stevens Duryea, Studebaker, White, Hartford, Locomobile and Velie.

About 120 people came with the cars, and they lunched and shopped in downtown Moultrie before heading to Maule Industries.

Dave Stevens, who brought his 1912 Hudson to the square from Michigan, said the tour covered between 500 and 600 miles overall. The trip bringing them to Moultrie was the shortest leg of the tour, only about 75 miles. He brought his wife, Diana, and dog Sandy with him on the tour but brought the Hudson on a trailer from Michigan.

Although he had driven through South Georgia before, Stevens said this was his first time visiting Moultrie. He liked the courthouse, especially that it was white while most of the ones in Michigan are more natural colors. Moultrie itself is also a very pretty town, he said.

The Hudson he drove has gone up to 50 mph, but Stevens said he usually drives it about 35 mph. Some of the cars on the tour can reach up to 60 mph or even faster, but he said his Hudson was a medium-size car that went at medium speeds.

Allan Weiner, who brought his 1915 Buick from Maine, said Moultrie was a beautiful town with nice folks. He has enjoyed being a part of the tour and would like to come back sometime, especially if another tour comes through here.

“This is a great place for an old car tour,” Weiner said. “It’s almost like these cars feel like they’re home.”

Gordon and his wife Blanche, who live in Thomasville, organized this year’s tour to come into South Georgia and North Florida, Weiner said. The tours take place every couple of years, and he hopes to come back here whether a tour does or not. He especially enjoyed the food and the smiling faces he saw while down here.

Skip Carpenter of Massachusetts, who was a passenger in a 1910 Buick, said he was having a lovely time in Moultrie. He enjoyed getting to be a part of the tour and getting to see the countryside. Riding in the antique car allowed him to really get to see the scenery going at slower speeds on back roads and without a top on the car.