Return to story

On the ROAD Fredericksburg residents were excited when the first cars drove into town Story by TED KAMIENIAK

June 24, 2006 2:06 am

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.

On April 24, 1907, a crowd gathered at the Fredericksburg train depot to watch the unloading of merchant Robert A. Kishpaugh's single-cylinder Cadillac. According to The Free Lance-Star, the car "coughed its way along the length of several local blocks followed by a highly interested group of grown-ups and a throng of excited youngsters, and then emitting a harsh, grinding sound came to a sudden and unexpected stop out of which the best mechanical genius of the town was unable to coax it for the period of one whole year."

The May 8, 1908, issue of the Northern Neck News, published in Warsaw, reported from Farnham in Northumberland County: "The sound of the 'Automobile' has been heard in our village this week. Several of our school boys and girls had the pleasure of a ride, and were delighted with the speed of this 'horseless' carriage."

The big and oft-debated questions of the time were whether this new form of transportation was just a rich man's toy, good only for local travel in cities and towns, or a revolutionary new mode of transportation that would shrink distances and drastically change the way Americans would live their lives.

Here in Virginia, the automobile's advent made enough of an impression by 1902 that the General Assembly approved its first act regulating automobiles on Dec. 20 of that year. The language and spirit of the legislation provides valuable insight into the skepticism and trepidation people felt toward the new machines.

The first paragraph of the Act to Regulate the Running of Automobiles sets a speed limit of 15 mph for any motorized conveyance operated on any "public highway, avenue, street or alley of any city in the State of Virginia." Riders on horseback and all animal-drawn vehicles had right of way and first consideration. If signaled to do so by any rider, the operator of an auto had to bring his machine to a full stop.

When a motorist was attempting to overtake a horse and rider or a horse-drawn vehicle stopped at the side of the road he was obligated to sound a "bell or gong" and to pass at a rate of speed not to exceed 4 mph. "The driver shall in all cases use due diligence and care not to frighten the horse or horses."

Underscoring the General Assembly's intention to safeguard the status quo (animal-powered conveyances), violators of the provisions of the 1902 act were subject to fines of up to $100. Their vehicles could be impounded and sold at auction.

In July 1907, three months after Spotswood Foster took delivery of his car, the City Council noted that there was no automobile regulation in the city, and the ordinance committee was charged with preparing one.

Later that same month, the mayor and the Common Council adopted as the law of the city the act of the General Assembly approved March 17, 1906, and titled "An Act to Regulate the Running of Automobiles, Locomobiles and Other Vehicles and Conveyances Whose Motive Power is Other than Animals." This was an expanded version of the 1902 law that addressed safety and accountability issues pertaining to the ownership and operation of automobiles.

This act gave birth to our familiar system of automobile registration, required safety equipment and rules of the road. Among the key aspects: "Every owner of a machine shall register the same by making application to the Secretary of the Commonwealth." The secretary then delivered a number plate 4 inches in height displaying a unique set of Arabic numbers followed by the letters "VA." "This plate must always be in evidence on the rear of the machine." The fee was $2.

Speed limits within the corporate boundaries of a city or town were set at 12 mph and 15 mph outside. Drivers were expected to slow down going around curves, down sharp inclines, at intersections and crossroads, going over the crest of hills, and while passing other vehicles or riders.

Looking out for horses and their drivers or riders, the law stated: "If any horse ridden or driven in an opposite direction to that which the machine is traveling gives evidence of fright, then the duty of the driver shall be the same as if he had been signaled [to stop] by the rider of the horse or the occupant of the [horse-drawn] vehicle."

Additionally, every machine was required to have a lock and key to prevent it from being "set in motion." It was illegal to leave a machine unattended with the key accessible.

Finally, the act of 1906 required every machine to have "good and sufficient brakes and a suitable bell, horn or signal device. At least one white light, throwing a beam at least 100 feet in the direction the automobile is going, was required equipment and had to be in use one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise. The rear of the machine was required to have one red light that would effectively "illuminate the number tag on the rear."

But it was the automobile endurance races, more than any other event of the times, that were responsible for bringing motoring to the forefront of America's consciousness, and fortifying the foundation of a car-crazy society. Endurance runs were highly publicized distance races, sometimes with manufacturers sponsoring entries. Drivers and their automobiles would try to beat each other's time, traveling some great distance, usually between major cities.

This sport took a lot of spunk and resourcefulness. Roads were unimproved outside cities and towns. Broken springs, snapped axles, busted drive chains and mud, mud and more mud, several feet deep at times, were commonplace. Gasoline had to be brought aboard, or delivered on the road if needed. Vehicles tanked up when they stopped in towns. The machines were cleaned and serviced. Drivers got food, drink and rest.

On March 7, 1908, the Star covered a race from Philadelphia to Savannah, Ga., between two 30-horsepower touring machines--a Pullman and a Studebaker. The drivers stopped in Fredericksburg for about two hours, having dinner at the Exchange Hotel and getting their machines washed, fueled and serviced.

Their approach to Fredericksburg was anything but smooth: "On Friday evening it was learned that the Pullman was 14 miles away, its stock of gasoline exhausted. A supply of gasoline was sent." On Saturday morning the same automobile was being drawn through the mud on the Warrenton Road, about three miles from Fredericksburg, by a team of six horses. Upon reaching Falmouth, the team was detached and the Pullman, with flags flying, crossed the bridge making a flamboyant entry into town. It then traveled down Main Street to the hotel.

Before departing Fredericksburg for Richmond the Pullman people, anticipating more impassable mud, hired a drag pulled by a team of four horses to accompany them. "This drag has in it 40 gallons of gasoline and the extra baggage taken from the car to lighten it." A big crowd turned out to witness the Pullman's departure.

And the Studebaker? It was 25 miles away when the Pullman was crossing the bridge into town. It was awaiting an order of gasoline. "It is probable that a team will be required to pull it through the mud, as in the case of the Pullman," the Star forecasted. But a later dispatch had the intrepid Studebaker 17 miles from Fredericksburg moving along on its own power.

On March 9, the Star updated its readers, disclosing that the Pullman had reached Richmond only one hour ahead of the Studebaker. The Pullman lost ground due to a snapped axle and its proclivity for getting caught in the muck.

About two years later, in May of 1910, The Free Lance covered a race involving 26 cars running from Washington to Richmond. This was a big social, economic and news event. A sizable party of Fredericksburg's business and civic leaders (including Robert Kishpaugh) traveled to Orange, via the narrow gauge railroad, to meet the "Automobile Endurance Run Party, which passed there, and to inspect the machines.

The Businessman's Association had other motivations, as well, having to do with economic development. The association presented one Allen Potts, a key promoter of the race, with a "formal set of resolutions," some of which expressed disappointment that the race bypassed Fredericksburg. They explained to Potts why it would be a good idea to have their next event pass through their wonderful city (leaving behind a few dollars).

In Orange, the machines came straggling in at varied intervals. The scheduled stay in that town was just 30 minutes. Roads between Orange and Washington were reported to be "fair," with most drivers running ahead of time.

"Near Woodbury Forrest an accident occurred to one of the autos, the machine running into a tree and throwing out the entire party. A Mr. Daniel of Richmond was painfully, but not seriously, hurt."

Reporting the next day, the Star explained that there were a few accidents and breakdowns as the cars struggled on to Richmond. There is no doubt that these were exciting events. The Star explained: "In one village the residents climbed to their housetops and cheered every car as it passed. In Louisa, Orange, Gordonsville and Culpepper a holiday was given to the school children, who lined every roadway over which the cars passed."

The development of a motoring culture presented Fredericksburg's City Council with an ample supply of new questions and situations needing attention. In May of 1912, council minutes recorded that the ordinance committee recommended that no person under the age of 18 be permitted to operate a motor vehicle. The law passed. A month later, three youths petitioned the council. J. Edward Tompkins, Emmett Colberth and Forrest Graves asked for immunity from the ordinance.

The minutes state, "The applicants are 16 years of age and [revealing something of contemporary sensibilities] a remarkable statement was made in the applications for this progressive age that neither of the three applicants smoked or drank."

At their July meeting it was decided that permits to operate would be granted to the three boys, conditioned on certain restrictions, and subject to the continuing discretion of Mayor Rowe.

At the November 1914 council meeting Dr. W.L. Bond, owner of Bond's Drug Store at Main (now Caroline) and Commerce (now William) streets, "laid a bill on the table" claiming that two panes of glass were broken in the front window of his store by stones being thrown by passing automobiles.

Apparently he felt local government should protect his property from such mishaps.

America as a nation on wheels, all sorts of wheels, had its detractors. An interesting glimpse into related problems is revealed in an ordinance proposed in council by one Col. Cole sometime around 1910.

"If any person shall run any handcart, wagon or wheelbarrow, or ride any bicycle or roller skates on the sidewalks of the city, or pavements surrounding any public monuments, he or she shall forfeit and pay not less than 50 cents, or not more than $5."

It did not take long for local government to get creative in extracting new revenue streams from the automobile. The City Council's finance committee in March 1912 proposed an ordinance imposing a license tax of $20 per business on any building or garage housing automobiles for a fee. The same amount was levied on businesses using automobiles " for hire or use in transportation of persons for which a charge is made."

Taxi businesses also paid an additional $10 per year for each additional vehicle.

The Fredericksburg city directories for the years 1910 and 1921 contain useful information underscoring the surge in automobility for that period. In 1910 there was one automobile dealer in town, the Fredericksburg Buggy Co. It advertised "Vehicles, Harness and Saddlery [and] The Famous Ford Automobiles." The business was located at 407 and 409 Commerce St.

Also listed in the 1910 directory was George Gravatt. His business, George Gravatt Carriage Works, was a sizable facility incorporating a wood shop, storage, paint shop, dwelling and kitchen, located at 610, 612 and 614 Princess Anne St. This occupied, in part, the property of the present-day post office. The Sanborn Fire Insurance maps of 1907 depict the buildings in use at his business at that time.

On May 4, 1911, the Daily Star published a brief under the caption "Garage Now Open." Fredericksburg's first automobile repair shop was apparently a partnership between the Fredericksburg Buggy Co. and Gravatt's Carriage Works.

"The Fredericksburg Buggy Company has completed the equipment of its garage in the Gravatt building on Princess Anne Street. This is the first thoroughly equipped garage to be established in this city." It was mentioned that the building was repaired, painted, shelved and stocked, and an "expert machinist" was employed, "ready at all times to render aid to those needing assistance with their machines."

Fire insurance maps published in 1912 no longer refer to this group of buildings as the Gravatt Carriage Works. No. 614 Princess Anne, formerly the carriage works paint shop, was then referred to as a "garage."

At its January 1914 meeting City Council considered an application to install the first underground gasoline tank in this city. Its capacity was 250 gallons. It is likely the Princess Anne Street location alluded to in the council minutes was the location discussed above, the former Gravatt Carriage Works. The council's ordinance committee was also charged with developing a law "governing the handling and storing of gasoline in the city."

A third inspection of the fire insurance maps discloses that, by 1919, all the buildings at the former Gravatt Carriage Works appear to be given over to the sales and service of automobiles. The community directory of 1921 lists 614-616 Princess Anne St. as home to the Virginia Motor Co., selling "Pleasure Cars and Trucks" including Chevrolet, Packard and Reo. There were five other major automobile dealers in Fredericksburg that year, all competing to deliver the magic of mobility to the people of the region.

The automobile had enabled people in Fredericksburg, and in the rest of America, to master distance as no other civilization in the history of the world ever had.

And with the passing of a century--a mere dust mote in the scheme of time--our automobiles, in some aspects, now master us.

TED KAMIENIAK of Spotsylvania County is a freelance writer.