Enough cars were on the road in 1910 for them to be a real nuisance to the horse and buggy.
By: Iris Naylor
Just as the bicyclists had their 100-mile runs, called century runs, in the 1890s, so the automobilists in 1910 had their 300-mile runs. Automobiles were still pretty much of a novelty in 1910 but enough were appearing on the country roads to become a real nuisance to the horse and buggy.
The 300-mile run that began in Trenton on a beautiful May morning brought 24 of the horseless carriages to Flemington, not once but three times. They arrived at 7 a.m., came back at noon and returned again at 5 p.m.
Residents complained about the excess speed, even though it was a fact that local drivers broke the speed limit every day.
Mayor Ledger of Lambertville vowed "to make the automobiles live up to the laws governing motor cars, especially the speed limit." It was said that his chances of accomplishing that were "on a par with St. Patrick eradicating Ireland from snakes."
The laws governing automobiles in 1910 were very specific. The penalty for driving without a license was $500, for exceeding the speed limit was $100, for driving without an audible horn or without lights after dark was $10. Driving while intoxicated and driving without the consent of the owner were considered misdemeanors. Automobile owners must not hang their numbers less than 15 inches no more than 3 feet from the ground or they must pay the fine of $25.
George Green was believed to have had one of the earliest licenses. It was made of leather. Mr. Green also owned a 1904 Oldsmobile in which he traveled all over the country. One trip in 1933 took the Greens, husband and wife, to Lansing, Mich., by way of Niagara Falls. Five years later, the couple drove their old car to the West Coast. Drivers’ licenses in 1911 were $2 and $4, depending on the horsepower of the vehicles.
One old-timer in 1960 wrote The Beacon that his first license cost only 50 cents. Licenses were required for both owner and chauffeur. Dr. Louis C. Williams had a two-cylinder Maxwell in 1909 .
That same old-timer remembered that Albert Agin drove the Maxwell for the doctor. It was not long before the other doctors in town discovered the convenience of the automobile. Dr. George L. Romine and Dr. John H. Fretz purchased their automobiles in 1910. Dr. L. T. Salmon had a garage built alongside his York Street residence in 1912 to house his new Ford touring car.
Dr. R. C. Foulke was driving toward home on a beautiful spring day in 1909 when his carriage was struck by an automobile. Neither the doctor nor his passenger were injured but the wagon was reported to be "pretty badly broken up."
A Ford five-passenger 4-cylinder touring car in 1909 could be purchased for $850. A 32-horsepower Hupmobile cost $900 in 1912. Nathal Raphael was the Lambertville agent for this vehicle which came equipped with a one-piece adjustable windshield, gas headlights, a generator, three oil lamps, a horn, tools and complete repair kit.
The early automobiles, according to a comment in The Beacon in 1908, were "the speediest and most stylish form of transportation known" and were capable of transporting "seven people from the front porch to the bankruptcy court or the golden gates in less time than any other method ever devised by mortals."
Eighty-seven people were killed and 773 people were injured by automobiles in the State of New Jersey in 1911. But the automobile was here to stay.
In 1915 a farmers’ picnic in Belvidere had more automobiles parked on the grounds than there were horses and wagons.
Henry Ford, in 1914, was offering rebates to buyers and the Standard Oil Company had erected roadside billboard ads that read: "More miles to a gallon, more smiles to the mile."