Early Adventures In Automobiling In Newtown – A Battle For The Byways

By Jan Howard

The advent of the automobile into Newtown in the early part of the 20th Century was not without incident or opposition. Not everyone shared the joy and pride of the automobile owners as they took their first “spins” around town.

Automobiles were objects of curiosity, but also could be of great consternation to some residents, particularly farmers. The Newtown Bee reported routinely on who in Newtown had bought which automobile. It also reported on the culture clash in what was then a predominantly farming community when horses met up with their new nemesis.

In one instance of car versus horse, reported in the April 24, 1903 Bee, there was a great deal of excitement when Mr and Mrs George A. Lake and their horse and wagon met up with an automobile driven by Mr Chittenden of Bridgeport. Mr Lake, of Palestine District, was apparently driving his wagon near the Grand Central Hotel on Main Street when Mr Chittenden started his car.

The Bee reported there was a “lively runaway” when Mr Lake’s horse bolted, throwing Mr and Mrs Lake from the wagon, and colliding with a yoke of oxen belonging to Bijah Woicehowski, knocking one of the cattle down. Mrs Lake was quite seriously bruised, and was assisted to Selectman Morris’ nearby residence. Mr Chittenden later arranged for a team to take Mr and Mrs Lake home.

On November 24, 1905, The Bee carried a story regarding the case of Levi C. Morris of Newtown against Henry H. Rennell of Bridgeport that would serve as a warning to automobilists driving to Newtown. The paper reported that the case would not be tried in the Court of Common Pleas because Mr Rennell had decided to settle rather than take his chances with a jury.

On May 30, Mr Rennell and a friend had left Bridgeport in an automobile at about 6 am for a fishing trip. In Newtown, they met up with Mr Morris’ horse and wagon, loaded with groceries and driven by William Honan, one of his clerks. The horse became frightened and ran away, overturning the wagon, and emptying the contents on the clerk.

Mr Morris subsequently brought suit to recover damages, and Mr Rennell’s father paid about $250 to settle. However, the paper noted, this was not the end, because Mr Rennell would have to appear in the criminal court in June for violating the criminal statute on three counts. The paper noted the moral was to obey the automobile law, keep out of Newtown, or take the consequences.

There was one time when the tables were completely turned. On July 7, 1911, the paper reported that a family from Waterbury was wending its way through Sandy Hook in a nice, shiny automobile when a thoroughbred horse that was loose on the highway took exception to something about that vehicle. It came up behind the car, reared up on its hind legs and “went at it with its two fore legs.” The paper declared it was the first and only victory known where the horse came out best with an automobile, “for that automobile was certainly dented some.”

An article in The Bee that charged that automobiles were a menace met with opposition. In a letter published October 7, 1904, P.D. said his “right to passage on a highway… has never been interfered with a whit more by drivers of autos than by drivers of fast horses and owners of fine equipage.” The writer said, “An autoist will toot his horn and let me know he is coming, but the horse driver never warns anybody of his approach. The pedestrian must get into the ditch out of the driver’s way or be run down.”

Regarding the claim that “automobilists scare horses,” the writer said, “Horses are notoriously senseless” and often frightened by something as small as a piece of paper in the road.  The writer concluded, “I’ve never yet seen a runaway auto.”

On October 14, 1904, an opposing letter from George Thompson was published. “I believe automobiles should not be allowed on country roads,” he wrote. “The average road is narrow and abounds in sudden curves and dangerous places and often so shaded by trees and bushes that an auto is not seen until close on.” He noted, “The selfishness of a rich few make the lives of many farmers, who pay the taxes to keep roads in repair, a worry and dread and no end of trouble…

“Let the farmers circulate a petition in every town to have our next legislature prohibit automobiles on country highways or at least let us have two or three days of each week when it is possible to travel country roads and meet no automobiles.”

Automobiles, of course, could get into trouble all by themselves, without a horse or another car in sight. On June 18, 1909, The Bee reported, “One of Newtown’s leading citizens has recently purchased a touring car for the pleasure of his family and to be in readiness to convey voters at the fall election.”

The paper reported that on the previous Sunday the citizen took his family out for a “little spin. They sped along country roads, tooting the horn at every corner until the thing got hoarse.” Suddenly the car just stopped. It was cranked and cranked, until sweat adorned the citizen’s brow. After a few timely suggestions from his wife and a few passersby, the atmosphere grew hotter than election day, the paper observed. After it had begun to rain, the car finally started. The citizen pulled himself from under the car, adjusted his goggles, scraped the mud from his new duster, grasped the steering apparatus, and was soon lost to view.

Where there are automobiles, there must be places to fix them, and on June 11, 1909, it was noted in The Bee that while the automobile enthusiasm was increasing locally, it was gratifying there was a garage where repairs could be made. “W.W. Wakely is an expert in this line,” the paper noted.

One June 7, 1912, The Bee reported that Allen Joyce was making extensive repairs on the automobile of McLean Buckingham, which was badly damaged near Hawleyville the previous week. Also, the car of Mamert Woicehowski had left Mr Joyce’s garage, having been overhauled “in good shape.”

Yes, the early automobiles had their detractors and their problems, but they were a source of enjoyment to their owners. The Bee often mentioned the excursions of automobilists to various places and listed new owners and the models they had purchased.

For example, on September 10, 1909, the paper reported that Mr and Mrs H.W. Wright spent two days in Bridgeport with friends, having made the trip in their automobile. On May 9, 1913, the paper noted that through the courtesy of Mr and Mrs P.E. Abbott, Mrs J. Arthur Banks enjoyed an automobile ride to Bridgeport the prior Wednesday.

Yes, the new drivers loved their new means of travel, and the new pastime brought attention to the roadways. On September 10, 1909, The Bee introduced a new club that had been formed by about 20 automobile owners to work for improved road conditions. The club also offered programs to enable owners to avoid, if not prevent, “many petty annoyances” concerning the “modern automobile.”

The new vehicles could be very tempting to others, as Alfred Walker found out, The Bee reported on November 16, 1917. When Mr Walker left Trinity Church the previous Sunday evening, he found to his astonishment that “some rascal” had made off with his Ford automobile, which had been left in front of R.H. Beers’ store. It was found the next morning on Sunset Hill. “It is getting to that pass that it is not safe to leave a car outside unless it is locked or under guard,” the paper concluded.

Legislating                      The Automobile

The handwriting was on the wall that cars were here to stay when on May 15, 1903, a law was passed by the legislature and approved by the governor requiring licensing of automobiles. No automobile or motor vehicle could be operated on public highways after July 1, unless the owner had filed an application with the secretary of state, giving name, address, and a brief description of the vehicle.

The law also provided that an automobile or motor vehicle should have the initial “C” (for Connecticut) and the number of the certificate displayed on the back of the vehicle in a conspicuous place, with letter and figures at least three inches high. The application fee was $1. The penalty for violation was a fine of not less than $5 or more than $25.

On March 10, 1911, The Bee reported that Henry G. Curtis, George F. Taylor, John C. Beers, and H.N. Tiemann had attended hearings in Hartford on automobile measures before the Roads, Rivers and Bridges Committee. The featured bill aimed to provide a definite maximum speed limit of 25 mph for automobiles. The existing bill set no definite speed limit.

At times, the paper reported, the hearing resolved itself into a legal debate between a representative of the Connecticut Automobile Association and a Milford lawyer who was defending the proposed bill. At other times, automobile owners were pitted against farmers.

Those in favor argued the law was needed to check heavy damage to highways by speeding cars and reckless drivers. Those opposed said no law could be devised to prevent the five percent of drivers who exceeded prudent driving from doing so.

In June 1912, Borough of Newtown officials warned motorists about a “flagrant violation” of a public act that called for the engine of motor vehicles to be muffled while within a borough or city at any time and on any public highway between 9 pm and 6 am. The penalty was a fine and/or prison sentence.

Advertisements               And Editorials

Illustrations of various models of automobiles were advertised in The Bee, from the early runabouts, Tonneaus, Surreys, Phaetons, Fords, and Chevrolets. An illustration of a Stevens-Duryea C-Six advertised in 1913 pointed out the patented adjustable rear seat that could be raised, lowered, or moved forward or back. The C-Six could carry seven passengers and sold for $4,750, a bit pricey for most people of that time.

“Buy a Ford,” an ad, read in May 1913. It touted that there were over 100,000 Fords in operation.

There were advertisements for the Rambler, $800 to $2,500 in 1906. The Chevrolet F-5 Touring Car sold for $800 in 1917, and the Liberty Six for $1,350. There were also less expensive cars, such as the Ford Runabout for $345 and Town Car for $595. A one-ton truck sold for $600 in 1917.

On March 11, 1904, The Bee published an editorial that the automobile “has come to stay,” listing as evidence exhibitions held annually since 1899 in New York City highlighting the automobile. The editor noted the first two had been the source of laughter by European visitors, who had become quite accustomed to the horse-less carriage, and European makers of the machine. The 1903 show, however, proved that American automobiles were as good as could be made, the editor noted. “Our manufacturers have got all the best ideas of European makers and added some new ideas of their own.”

The editorial noted in 1903 28,000 vehicles were manufactured, representing a cash value of about $30 million.

Automobiles brought about many changes, including road signs. In an August 8, 1909, Bee editorial, the editor pointed out that new signposts at every fork in the roads gave a list of towns so at a glance a traveler might see his way for 50 miles. “The necessity of providing a new class of travelers with a new sort of facts has been back of the movement for guideboard rehabilitation. The contrast in this respect makes it easy to distinguish the regions of horse-drawn vehicles content with next town direction, and those places which have felt the era of the automobile.”

Automobiling even brought about changes in wearing apparel, as noted in an advertisement on May 27, 1910, in which “a nice line of automobile gloves” were offered by Taylor, Curtis & Company.

Automobile                    Ownership

The only automobiles owned in Newtown in 1903 were those of Clarence Sears of Huntingtown and Charles Cole, son of W.T. Cole of Fabric Fire Hose Company. But after Henry Ford introduced the Model T at a more affordable price, automobiles began to be seen more frequently around town.

By August 1913, there were 77 automobile owners in Newtown, of which at least nine were women. The Bee Publishing Company was listed as one of the businesses owning a motor vehicle.

On September 8, 1905, The Bee reprinted an article from the New York Herald in which Peter Lorillard Ronalds, 78, of Newtown was reported to be bidding farewell to four-in-hands to become a “votary of automobiling.”

The Herald story noted, “Mr Ronalds is one of the noted whips of the Lorillard family, and despite his advanced age, did all the driving himself of a tally-ho coach on a trip to New Rochelle from Newtown, which included stops in Newport and other fashionable resorts…”

The newspaper said Mr Ronalds was called the “father of coaches,” but “after his last journey… he has come to the conclusion that he may obtain more pleasure in automobiling, and is making arrangements to learn the art of a chauffeur.”

 The story noted Mr Ronalds would soon buy a high power “machine” for an upcoming tour of seacoast towns of Europe and of New England the following summer, starting from Castle Ronalds at Newtown. “I think that I shall find it more pleasant and certainly less expensive to make my tours in an automobile,” Mr Ronalds said. “The auto has an advantage over a coach, because there are no four horses to be stabled and fed and watched.”

On April 25, 1913, it was reported that David C. Peck, president of the Newtown Savings Bank, had bought an Overland car, Model 71-T, through the Wakely agency. On June 11, 1909, the paper noted that Mr and Mrs Henry G. Curtis, Mrs Julia Hawley, Rev J.H. George, and Miss Caroline George had been in Hartford attending the diocesan convention after motoring there and back in Mr Curtis’ automobile.

W.F. Hale, proprietor of the Newtown Inn, saw the advantages of the automobile to his business. In April 1912 he put out a folder for patrons that contained an automobile map of the western section of the state, and a list of routes to Newtown.

No one in 1903, when there were only two automobiles in Newtown, could have foreseen the tremendous growth of “automobiling” and the traffic that would result, eventually filling Newtown streets and causing gridlock on highways. But, in contrast, those of us who have ever had a love affair with a special car and still remember it fondly years later would never understand why that farmer in 1904 would want to ban cars from the roads on any day of the week.