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Fredericksburg residents were excited when the first cars drove into town. By Ted Kamieniak Date published: 6/24/2006
N THE BEGINNING of the 20th century was the automobile, and the automobile was with America. And the automobile would come to define America--only America did not yet know it. Who was the first resident of Fredericksburg to own an automobile? That information can be found in the Newsy Nuggets section of the April 16, 1907, Free Lance, where "Many Minor Matters Merely Mentioned" showcased local briefs and press releases in a tumbling caption-less format. "Mr. Spotswood Foster, electrician at the Rappahannock Electric Light Plant, is the owner of an automobile, and attracted much attention as the machine sped along our streets Tuesday morning. It is the first one here owned by a citizen of Fredericksburg." While our reporter did get the who, what, where and when of the thing (but not the why), I, from my 21st-century hind-sighted perch, would have enjoyed more details. It's likely that most people living in 1907 could never have imagined how ubiquitous and universally influential the automobile would become. Thus the editor that day, almost a century ago, relegated the event to "minor matters." By 1907, automobiles were becoming increasingly numerous in the United States. Fredericksburg was late in having its first car brought into town. In small-town America especially, during those first years of the century, having an automobile pass through town was a big deal. People would stop work, children would duck out of school and just about everyone would line the roads to get a look at these new machines. Local officials would be apt to extend formal greetings to the "automobilists." People would eagerly line up for rides.
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