Ned, You Ought To Take Me in Your Auto
The story of the first automobile in Danville
By Mark R. Moore
Ancient Roads. When I first heard of their existence, I had visions of a mythical highway hidden under the soil and stones in some corners of the Republic of Vermont. Soon I learned it was a matter of old, faded charts and the recollections of long-time residents. But even the maps and memories get fuzzy with the passage of time. The roads become ruts, the ruts get filled in, and the road becomes not an obscure ramble through the forest.
Yet the documents at the Danville Historical Society set me on a clear path where I met the image of the first car and first car owner in Danville–the recently married 24-year-old owner of a red touring automobile, Ned Pettengill. But first, let’s review a bit of history of the automobile in Vermont.