Below top: ELECTRIC VEHICLE: In 1895, the United Opinion predicted that electric-powered vehicles would be "the fad of the future." One of the first automobiles in Bradford was this electric vehicle registered in 1909. Despite less vibration, less odor and less noise than gasoline-powered autos, the electric models were eclipsed by Ford's Model T soon after this photograph was taken. (Bradford Historical Society)
Driver Leslie Welch and brother Robert F. Welch pose for a photo with the Bradford-Waits River Stage auto truck around 1917. Providing daily rides and mail service, this Studebaker was decorated with an advertisement for Ladd's Cream Bread.(Bradford Historical Society)
 |
Frank Brigham (left) and Fred H. Bickford show off Brigham's Stanley Steamer. Twin brothers Freeland and Francis Stanley began producing steam-powered vehicles in 1897 and formed the Stanley Motor Carriage Co. in Newton, MA in 1902. In 1899, a Stanley was the first automobile to ascend Mount Washington's carriage road. (Bradford Historical Society)
 |
| THE WONDER CAR: Manufactured by Maxwell-Briscoe Co of Tarrytown, NY, the Maxwell was one of the first automobiles marketed to women. Manufactured from 1904-1925, it was nicknamed "the Wonder Car." For a time, this company was one of the top three auto manufacturers in America. |
Journal Opinion, November 22, 2017
“The model horseless carriage will no doubt come in time,
but before it can come into general use in this country there must be vast
improvements in the common roads” The
United Opinion, Nov. 8, 1895
The observation from The United Opinion published just
before the first automobiles appeared in northern New England. This column
describes the first two decades of the transformation that accompanied their
arrival.
Information for this article was taken from period newspapers,
local town histories and on-line sources. Several quotes are taken from a
series of interviews of local elders conducted in the 1980s by my U.S. History
students at Oxbow High School.
The idea of a horseless carriage was explored for many years
prior to their introduction into Europe in the 1880s.
Three Yankee
inventors were among those who explored the horseless carriage during the 19th
century. In 1826, inventor Samuel Morey of Orford received a patient for an
internal combustion engine. Morey correctly prophesied that the engine would
“greatly change the commercial and personal intercourse of the country.”
A decade later, John Gore of Brattleboro created a carriage
with a steam engine. It was reported that this “whizz wagon tore up the roads.”
Around 1869, Springfield, NH native Enos Clough built a steam-powered vehicle
that he displayed in the region. His vehicle, as with the two mentioned above,
proved too much for their drivers and ended up wrecked.
In 1895, Charles and J. Frank Duryea of Springfield, MA
established the first American gasoline car company.
The first appearances of horseless carriages locally came in
1896. The late Bernard Crafts told his student interviewer that the first one,
driven by a Frenchman, drove through
Bradford that year. When, in 1899, the first auto passed through Pike and
according to one town history, “it created much interest”
For many, the first opportunity to see what became known as
an automobile was at a circus or fair where it was part of the curiosities. Others may have attended auto races held
around the country for their first glimpse at the vehicle..
For the first few years, automobiles were seen as the play
toy of wealthy men from down country.
Because of the frightening impact on pedestrians and horses these “devil
wagons” were not welcomed locally.
One elder recalled that those she knew considered them to be
“a luxury and a nuisance.” She went on to say “Rich folks from Massachusetts
drove you right off the road.”
Dr. J. H. Lindsley of Burlington may have owned the first
Vermont automobile. It was a one-seat Stanley Steamer. Charles C. Warren of
Waterbury was the first Vermonter to register an automobile. In 1899, this auto
enthusiast purchased a Haynes-Apperson.
Dr. Adrian Hoyt of Penacook was not only the first person to
own an automobile in New Hampshire, he actually built it. He went on to briefly
manufacture both steam and electric vehicles.
The local residents who owned the first automobiles were
usually professionals or businessmen. By 1905 that included: John Stevens and
Dr. Henry Lee of Wells River. They owned a 1903 Oldsmobile Steamer and a
Stanley Ste4amer, respectively. W. T. Jackman of, Corinth had a 1904 Oldsmobile
with a steering lever. Dr. Henry Stearns of Haverhill Corner drove a Orient Buckboard made
by a Waltham, Massachusetts company. The
United Opinion editor Harry Parker of Bradford had a Maxwell Runabout. Dr.
Walter Gustin owned the first automobile in Thetford. But the newspaper only described
it as a “red car.”
Other early adopters included Paul Lang of Orford. Nellie Smith and brothers George and R. H. Symes
Brothers of Wells River had
automobiles So did Hial Cotton and James Whitcomb, both of Post
Mills. Dr. Ezra. C. Chase and his son Dr. Daniel R.
Chase purchased an automobile for professional calls.
Soon after the automobile’s introduction, several
businessmen offered autos for sale or rent, provided chauffeur services and
made winter storage available.
According to 1980s interview with local seniors,, many thought
these purchases were a waste of money. There continued to be the fear that
automobiles would frighten horses. The late Helen Carr of Bradford recalled
that one man’s horse was so frightened
of Harry Parker’s auto that he would call the editor to see when he would be
out and about so that he could avoid a confrontation on village streets.
Across the nation there was anti-automobile legislation. In
Vermont, this was encouraged because most drivers were from out of state and
sometimes intoxicated. From the very beginning of automobile’s appearance on the
state’s roads, there was a movement to limit their access to public roads.
Automobile opponents advocated for the
construction of highways specifically for their use, much as railroads had
done.
In 1894, an act was passed by the Vermont Legislature that
required those in charge of steam-propelled vehicle using a public street or
highway to have a person at least one-eighth of a mile in advance to “notify
and warn all persons…and at night such person shall, except in an incorporated
village or city, carry a red light.“ This law was repealed in 1900.
A leader of this anti-automobile movement was Joseph
Battell, owner of the Middlebury Register. He used his newspaper to highlight
his views. Accidents in which automobiles injured pedestrians and carriage
passengers were referred to as “the homicidal orgy of the motor car.”
Battell encouraged local governments to prohibit automobile
traffic from their roads. Apparently, he owned much of Camel’s Hump and offered
to give it to the state if automobiles were banned from the area’s roads.
In 1904, there was legislation introduced that limited
access to public roads. Corinth’s representative supported this legislation,
saying, “It is not safe for a woman to drive a horse in the highway, when one
of these devilish contraptions came along.” It did not pass.
Throughout the period, many were ready to make jokes or
derogatory remarks about automobiles. Driving his horse past an auto mired in
mud up to the body, a Vermonter might say “get a hoss” or “I’aint all pie with
one of them things.”
In 1904, the Vermont Legislature passed a law calling for
auto registration. New Hampshire passed a similar law in 1905. Both required a
small registration fee and, several years later, added a license plate
requirement. That first year there were 373 vehicles registered in Vermont and
532 in New Hampshire.
Newspapers of the period reported on the number of
registrations annually. Nation-wide, in 1915, there were 3.6 million registrations,
an increase of 1.06 million in just one year The number reflected the
phenomenal growth and vigor of the new industry.
Following are some of those reported figures for Vermont:
1907-1400 vehicles; 1909-1658, 1912 4,283, 1914-8,262, 1915-11,499,
1916-15,350. By this time, Vermont was one of the leading states in the number
of automobiles per capita.
New Hampshire experienced similar increase in the number of
registered vehicles growing to 10,819 by l915. In both states the figures
included a small number of motorcycles and later trucks.
There was an attempt to regulating speed. In 1909, New
Hampshire set the limit at 8 mph in urban areas and 20 in rural. Vermont’s limits were 10 and 25 for the same
areas. Both still has rules regarding
the horses, with New Hampshire requiring that auto drivers “must stop upon
signal from horseman and stop engine upon request.”
Automobile enthusiasts organized the Granite State
Automobile Club in 1900-1902 followed by the American Automobile Association in
1902 and the Automobile Club of Vermont in 1903. These organizations promoted the rights of
automobile users, provided maps, held road contests and rallies and “maintained
a social club devoted to automobilism.”
Events were held to encourage automobiles. In 1899, the first
“climb to the clouds” was the an auto trip up Mt. Washington. In 1903,
Burlington auto enthusiast Horatio Jackson, accompanied by a mechanic and a pit
bull, completed the first transcontinental trip in a two-cylinder 20 HP Winton
nicknamed “Vermont.”
Auto shows were held in St. Johnsbury, Montpelier and
Burlington. Glidden and Munsey automobile tours visited local communities These
introduced the public to the wide variety of vehicles available.
Automobile organizations also promoted road improvements. Dirt roads got dusty in the summer, muddy in
the spring and impassable in the winter. The organizations, joined by cycle
groups, lobbied both state and the federal governments for funds for road
construction.
Good roads were important to farmers anxious to get their
products to market in a timely way as well as an attraction to tourists.
Newspaper articles indicate that, for a time, New Hampshire devoted more funds
to tourism than Vermont. In 1916, the Federal Aid Road Act was passed giving
funds to states for road improvement.
Several attempts were made to manufacture automobiles in the
two-state area, but failed. In fact, during the period the number of automobile
manufactures in the nation began to drop dramatically from a high of 253.
While familiar vehicles such as Olds, Overland, Maxwell and
Buick were owned locally, it was Henry Ford’s autos that became popular. In
1903, Ford introduced the Model A and over the next several years marketed
other models.
In 1908, he introduced the Model T, the first really popular
car for the general public. Initially offered at $850, Ford’s use of the
assembly line allowed the price to drop within the reach of the average working
man. By 1915, more Fords were registered in Vermont than any other make.
As the price of automobiles dropped and their uses became
more evident, Vermonters began to purchase new or used vehicles. Improvements
such as headlights, pedal controls, steering wheels, running boards and
improved motors making vehicles more reliable, safer and easier to
operate.
In 1916, installment sales were introduced by the makers of
moderately priced cars. One Newbury
column read “Several of our staid and dignified citizens have the automobile
bug buzzing, and are contemplating purchasing a machine.”
As automobiles became
more common, support businesses began to appear. Hotels catered to the motoring
public. Railcars hauled new vehicles to local dealers. Garages for repairs and
fuel opened. Steam and electric powered
vehicles were largely replaced by gasoline and there were many dealers who
provided this fuel to the motoring public.
A typical news item appeared in The United Opinion in 1912 announcing that Harry E. Davis had
opened the Bradford Auto Garage and was “prepared to do all kinds of repairing
and has for sale gasoline, oil accessories and supplies.” Local stores and catalogs offer goggles,
hats, dusters and other items needed by the motoring public.
Local farmers stood ready to help motorists mired in mud. My
Dad told me that one enterprising farmer
in Central Vermont made sure that a dip in the road near his farm remained
muddy well beyond the normal mud season. He offered assistance to swamped
travelers for a small fee.
Local newspapers carried news notes describing when citizens
purchased an automobile especially when it was one of the first in the
community. Items mentioned family
visits, business trips and tours of the White and Green Mountains by locals and
tourists. They also described accidents involving automobiles and horses or
railroad trains or when one “turned turtle” on a sharp curve.
Elders who were interviewed recalled some of the first
automobiles in the area. While their families did not purchase an automobile
until years later, many recalled experiencing their first auto ride by 1908.
They recalled rushing to the home or school windows to watch
cars go by, maybe as often as twice a day. Gladys Jesseman said she was “afraid
of the contraption,” whereas Fannie Eastman loved them as they “opened up a
grand new area for me.” Alice Hood said that the Model T was “wonderful” and
could get her from Corinth to Bradford more easily.
Others tell stories of those who, use to handling a horse,
would shout “whoa” instead of applying the brakes on their vehicle when they
wanted to stop or slow down. In Fairlee in 1912, 100-year old Sallie Wilson,
“active for her years,” went for her first auto ride in her nephew Lyman
Robie’s “buzz wagon.” Going along smoothly, she began to realize it was a new
mode of travel and kept saying to her nephew “Lyman, where are the horses?”
The first mention of an automobile in a Vermont newspaper
was in 1895. It predicted the “passing of the horse.” Twenty years later that
prediction was coming to pass. In 1901, a Barre newspaper editor wrote
“Automobiles may be practical sometimes, but at present a man can travel about
as comfortably and certainly more cheaply on foot than he can in a horseless
carriage.”
Ed Peters of Bradford, whose family had raised Morgan Horses
for decades, told my student interviewer that the arrival of the automobile
devastated their business. Local harness and wagon makers faced the same
challenges.
As society is confronted by new technological advances,
there will always be those who predict that eventually come to pass and those
that will not. There will be those who embrace the new and those who resist.
Likewise, new innovations bring new challenges, especially to those whose
occupations are tied to the outmoded practices. It was so with the early
automobile and it will continue to be with future innovations.
