A history of roads in Virginia: The Auto Age Begins

Pulling autos out of the mud was a sideline business for many Virginia farmers.

In Springfield, Mass., in September 1893, what generally is accepted as the first American gasoline-powered automobile was given a short road test by its builders, brothers Charles E. and J. Frank Duryea.

That same year in Washington, the Congress established the United States Office of Road Inquiry, directing the Secretary of Agriculture “to make inquiries in regard to the system of road management throughout the United States,” to investigate methods of road building and to assist in disseminating information about the nation’s roads.

Good roads societies were organized in many states, and in Virginia this movement dates at least to 1894. It was then that the Young Business Men’s League of Roanoke took leadership in forming the Virginia Good Road Association. Local meetings and statewide conventions were held, and enthusiasm grew swiftly.

In September 1895, the Duryea brothers established the first American company to manufacture gasoline driven cars, the Duryea Motor Wagon Company. In 1904 the Ford Motor Company produced 1,695 cars, and by 1907 had increased its production to 14,887.

The last decade of the 19th century was called the Gay ‘90s, and the daring new mobility was a part of the mood. What is believed to have been the first automobile of any kind operated in Virginia was driven along Norfolk streets in 1899, powered by kerosene. Eleven years before that significant event, the world’s first commercially successful streetcar system had begun in Richmond. The state’s population had grown to 1,854,184, and while the population was about 85 percent rural, Richmond could count 85,000 residents.

Throughout Virginia, as throughout the nation, the public’s delight with the automobile was mounting by leaps and bounds. But in most places, the roads weren’t ready for this “horseless carriage.”

Next up: Getting Organized for Better Road

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