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The Colorful Early Automotive History of Vermont The history of Vermont's early motoring is quite colorful, though I suppose most folks haven't really pondered the subject much. Today, you get a license plate, put it on your car, and forget about it, except once a year when you put a new sticker on it. And, of course, you’re required to get your vehicle to pass inspection annually, in case you’d like to use it on public roads. Passing vehicle inspections today is not as easy as it used to be, say thirty years ago. But way back, around 120 years ago, none of that mattered at all. In 1894 Vermont passed its first law regarding automobiles, even though no one in Vermont actually owned one at the time. Among the provisions of the new law was a requirement that a person could not use their car, "...unless he sends, at least one-eighth of a mile in advance... a person of mature age to notify and warn all persons...using the street or highway with horses or other domestic animals..." The first automobile in Vermont was a Stanley Steamer, purchased in 1896 by Dr. Lindsley, of Burlington. The Stanley Steamer ran on steam power like a locomotive. It must have been something to see the Doctor sending a “person of mature age” ahead to warn people in the street that he was on his way in his Steamer. I wonder if Doctor Lindsley felt a special feeling of freedom, not needing a license or a registration, in those early years. Photo of 1899 Stanley Steamer courtesy GPS, New Zealand via wikimedia commons Like Dr. Lindsley, Jay Leno, the comedian and collector of motor vehicles, also bought a Stanley Steamer. The Stanley Steamer basically used a hot water heater to run the car. They lit a pilot light with a match, and matches were also used to light the headlights. Everything on the vehicle was mechanical. There was nothing electric on the car. You can see a great video of Jay Leno’s Stanley Steamer and laugh as he and his friend take it out for a spin in modern day Los Angeles. The vehicle came with no transmission, and no brakes! It’s worth watching, and fun to hear the horn on the steamer, which sounds just like a steam train. It was pretty interesting technology, I highly recommend the ten minute video with Jay Leno, which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgH88xrYdE4 In the first years of automobile use, there was sort of an adversarial relationship between motorists and everyone else. The early owners of the newfangled curiosities were generally the rich, and they or their chauffeurs drove them mostly for sport and public show. Pedestrians and those with horses and animals soon were upset with the speed and recklessness with which the motor vehicles were being driven, and the danger they represented. In "The Manifold Hazards of Early Motoring", The Cartalk blog had this to say about motor vehicle traffic in 1901: "Although there was almost 40 carmakers in 1901, there were no highway signs, streetlights, traffic lights or indeed any form of licensing. Chaos reigned on the roads. And it got worse as auto populations quickly increased..." In 1903 another Vermont doctor, Horatio Nelson Jackson was interested in using the motor vehicle for long distance driving. While in San Francisco, Horatio made a bet that he could drive a motor car across the country, to New York City. He bought a slightly used 20 horsepower 1903 Winton, and hired Sewall Crocker, an ace mechanic to accompany him. Dr. Jackson, his 1903 Winton, "The Vermont" and his bulldog, "Bud" photo courtesy Mariordo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1903_Winton_touring_car_01_2012_DC_00466.jpg Dr. Jackson and Mr. Crocker left San Francisco on May 23, 1903 and headed toward New York City, where adventure and fame awaited, on the first ever, cross-country roadtrip across the United States. An earlier attempt to cross the country by Alexander Winton, had failed, when he tried to cross via the southern route, through the desert. So Horatio Nelson Jackson decided to take a northern route and avoid the desert altogether. There is a map provided by PBS, where you can click on points of interest along the way, and learn more. The route they took brought them through such states as Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraske, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. The interactive PBS map of Horatio's route can be found here: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/horatios-drive/the-map/ Along the trip east, Dr. Jackson acquired a pet bulldog named “Bud” who endeared many to Dr. Jackson and his quest to cross the USA. Bud wore doggy goggles, and was quite a sight in the newfangled “motor carriage”. USA in 1901 interactive map at: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3700.ct001444/ "The Vermont" was the name they gave to the 1903 Winton car. Included among the items that the doctor and his mechanic brought on the trip, was a block and tackle, which came in very handy, all too often, for pulling the car out of ditches, creek beds, and wet spots. Ken Burns did a great PBS documentary on Dr. Jackson and his early cross-country trip, titled “Horatio’s Drive”. There are several short excerpts from “Horatio’s Drive” available on YouTube, but if you want to watch the whole documentary, it looks like you have to purchase it. Here are a few links to some of the great excerpts of “Horatio’s Drive”, available for free viewing: 1. Heading Out from San Francisco: Length = 1:46 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7icmrGhwqRY 2. Horatio's Drive: Lost in Wyoming. This excerpt is about the time they broke down in Wyoming, and were able to get going again using some parts from a farmer’s “mowing machine”. That’s the old “can-do” attitude, right there! Length = 3:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt_wyIR4tGg 3. Horatio’s Drive: New York Length = 1:49 The arrival at the finish line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKYLQi8VQlw&t=109s Early Vehicle Licensing in Vermont: 1905 "VAR" License Plate; first year for Vermont. Courtesy: www.uvm.edu/landscape/dating/automobiles/license_plates.php 1905 Saw Vermont’s first year of registering motor vehicles. License plates used were known as porcelain, or enameled iron. The license plates used from 1905-1907 were undated, and only needed room for up to three numerals, as there were less than a thousand vehicles registered in Vermont until 1908. The 1905-1907 Vermont license plates plates had “Vermont Automobile Registry” written across the top. License plate collectors call these plates “VAR” plates, and pay good money for these, Vermont’s oldest plates. If you found one of these on your barn wall, it could be worth several hundred dollars, possibly more. 1915 was the last year of the porcelain license plates in Vermont, and the beginning of a new era for the automobile. Along with the new embossed steel plates came more and more average americans buying and driving cars. This was in great part due to Henry Ford's assembly line built, mass marketed, Model-T's. And with this new found mode of fast transportation, came the need for better roads. In 1903, Dr. Horatio Nelson of Vermont took the first cross-country motor car trip across the USA. In many places, what passed for roads were horrible. Forty years later, in 1943, my father and his parents moved to California from Connecticut. They drove on the Lincoln Highway, and Route 66. These were the roads you took to drive across the country in the 1940's. There were no beltways around cities. If you needed to get through Chicago, then, well, you went right through Chicago! There were no interstate highways then, but unlike in 1903, at least there were roads! Today, in 2020, we drive on I-91 or I-89, and turn on our cruise control while having conversations with loved ones via cell phone and bluetooth. Sometimes, as I glance at Mt. Ascutney, or the distant mountains, while on a road trip, I stop and think about the folks of 100 years ago, and the rum runners of the 1920's. Then I think about the motorists of 120 years ago, when motor carriages were new-fangled curiosities, and limited access highways were dreams of the future. Then I think back further, about what it was like before the car, but when the railroad was king. And before that, when a good horse was a common way to get somewhere fast. And I like to think of the days hundreds of years ago, when there were no horses here, and when the "People of the Dawn" traveled along footpaths and cruised in rivers with hand crafted canoes. The Lincoln Highway opened in 1913. There is a great documentary on the history of the Lincoln Highway, which was mostly replaced by Route 30, which, in turn, was eventually replaced by Interstate 80, leaving abandoned motels, gas stations and watering holes in its wake. My wife and I watched it last night and loved it. You can check out the excellent one hour documentary by Wyoming PBS here: 100 Years on the Lincoln Highway, by Wyoming PBS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIW2-bH84u4 Thanks for traveling down Old Roads, Rivers and Rails! Please share these stories with friends if you like them. Here are a few old license plates from my collection: The first is the only porcelain plate I own, a 1918 one, from New Hampshire. 1918 New Hampshire Porcelain License Plate. 1926 Vermont steel license plate "Photoscenic" New Hampshire, 1963 only "I Am Vermont Strong" license plate issued after Tropical Storm Irene Sources:
Video: JAY LENO’S STANLEY STEAMER: Length = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgH88xrYdE4 HORATIO’S DRIVE: THE CREW. PBS https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/horatios-drive/the-crew/ PORCELAIN COLLECTORS VERMONT PAGE: http://porcelainplates.net/vermont_archive.html UNIVERSITY OF VT LANDSCAPE CHANGE PROGRAM - DATING VERMONT LICENSE PLATES: https://www.uvm.edu/landscape/dating/automobiles/license_plates.php HISTORY OF VERMONT LICENSE PLATES - VT DMV: https://dmv.vermont.gov/registrations/license-plates/history-of-vermont-license-plates 1901 Map of USA: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3700.ct001444/?r=-0.092,-0.138,1.03,0.428,0 Video: 100 YEARS ON THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY - PBS Length = 21 mins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIW2-bH84u4 WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ON HORATIO NELSON JACKSON: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Nelson_Jackson The Manifold Hazards of Early Motoring Jim Motavali Jul 25, 2018 https://www.cartalk.com/blogs/jim-motavalli/manifold-hazards-early-motoring
4 Comments
George Chapman
1/10/2020 12:21:20 pm
Enjoyed this. Interesting to note that in the United Kingdom, the law that required an advance man (who was required to carry a red flag) was repealed in 1896. There are two antique car events in the United States that commemorate the repeal and also an annual run in Great Britain.
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1/10/2020 01:42:03 pm
Horatio's Drive is also available in book form. Ask about it at Left Bank Books in Hanover, or the Norwich Bookstore. Or order it online:
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AuthorI'm Bob Totz, retired VT postmaster, and historical geographer ARCHIVES:
October 2021
EXPANDED ARCHIVES: AUGUST 2021 1858 Johnson Map of North America MAY 2021 1795 - "Road Over the Mountain" - Part Two Historic Toll House For Sale 1795 - "Road Over the Mountain" Part One OCTOBER 2020 Finding That Special Peaceful Place AUGUST 2020 Kayaking on the Pompy JULY 2020 Pt. 2: What the Heck Are These Things? JUNE 2020 Bob's Bio... What the Heck Are These Things? Pt. 1 MAY 2020 Stone Walls and Spirits The View APRIL 2020 Sunny Brook Farm Relics: Pt 2. Sunny Brook Farm Relics: Pt 1. MARCH 2020 Signs of Norwich Pt. 2 COVID-19 Tracking Map Centertown and Valleyquest Signs of Norwich Pt. 1 "Imperfect Union" - Book Review Historic Centertown FEBRUARY 2020 King's Hwy Pt. 2 WRJ Museum at Post Mills Airport Chatauguay Vermont The Independent Farmer poem Traveling Along the King's Highway - Lebanon NH JANUARY 2020 Finding Parkhurst Cemetery In Search of Parkhurst Cemetery Affordable Housing The Old Stone Grill Two Rivers Trail-Kmart License and Registration, Please! Prohibition, Murder and Dr. Seuss Peace, Paris, & P.O. DECEMBER 2019 BLOGGER'S LINKS Welcome to Old Roads Love-Quail Hollow fun Dartmouth Cemetery SEPTEMBER 2019 E. Thetford Cemetery JUNE 2019
Taps: Meetinghouse Cemetery 4-Corners Borders Quest Old Iron Gate Stumbling Upon History Sunrise Walk MAY 2019 4 Corners Cemetery Strafford's Abandoned Foundations Art in Old Stonework APRIL 2019 Strafford Tpke Pt 2 Strafford Tpke Pt 1 White River Valley FEBRUARY 2019 Learning from Historic Maps of the Upper Valley Change in Lewiston VT JANUARY 2019 A Vermont Ski Waltz John Ledyard 1773 What is the Upper Valley? DECEMBER 2018 Dartmouth Green Music Video: Sometimes Music Video: Montreal Express Railway Disaster of 1887 |