The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-07-19
PERHAPS THE FIRST AUTO
John Gore of Brattleboro Built t;
Successful One in 1887


Brattleboro. July 17.-Brattleboro
bears the. distinction of being the pi-
oneer place where automobiles were
built and exploited. over 40 years
ago, there lived in this village a mach
mist and inventor by the name of
John Gore who built an automobile in
1887. 1t was not of the upholstered
type of the nighspeed touring car that
PUSHES about town these days, yet In
those days il was wonder as rec
ord breaker for speed, and those who
saw Mr. Gore tearing along the road
to West Brattlebor0 were inclined 10
seek the high spots and let him have
more than the proverbial half that is
supposed to belong to the driver of a
vehicle on the highway The machine
was a success inasmuch as it took the
hills easily, scared horses. and ran
away with pretty much the same reck
less abandon that the modern motor
car does.
The last trip the machine made was
from Bernardston, Mass, to Brattle-
boro. Just what happened to the me-
chanism history does not record but
the car went over into ditch about
mile or two outside of this village and
the inventor and builder climbed out
of the wreckage and remarked that
the debris might remain there. 1t did
for many years until the eagle eye of
a Junk collector discovered 1t.
Whether II was one or a six cylin-
der machine is not known. The car
riage was an ordinary wagon or buggy
such as was used in those days and
the motive power was miniature en-
CINE connected with the wheels. 1t
made as much noise as threshing
machine or reaper. While our fore
fathers were not inclined to put up the
bar against progression they decided
tnat John Cores whiZz wagon was a
menace to the life, limb and welfare
of the public and accordingly the use
less and dangerous machine" was pro-
hibted the use of the highways.
Just where the machine was built
is not known. Mr.. Gore occupied
shop upon what is now the unoccupied
site of the old Valley mill on Bridge
street He was also at one time To-
Gated in SHOP where Fenton's black
smith shop stands on Canal street and
for 8 years was engaged in the man
ufacture various kinds of machin-
cry. Mr.. Gore won more fame as
builder of boilers and engines than he
did as an inventor of motto car. He
invented any built a large number of
boilers and engines for Commodore
Cornelius Vanderbilt which were in
stalled in steamships owner by the lat
ter Some of Mr.. Cores boilers were
also used in the steamers that piled
on the Connecticut river. Like many
an inventive genius he found that ais
path was not strewn with roses. He
invented a moving machine which
was success and it looked to Mr..
Gore that fortune had really knocked
in earnest at his door, but some un-
scrupulous person or persons discov-
cred the strong points of his invention
and beat him out in the manufacture
and sale of the machine.
The machine is claimed to have EN-
bodied the valuable features of the old
Hinsdale moving machine.
Mr.. Gore was man of great ply
steal strength, tall and raw boned. He
was the original exponent of the
square deal in Brattleboro and the old
time raconteurs tell how he was al
ways on hand to take the part of the
under dog whenever any of his neigh
bors were at odds with one another.
A story is told of how Mr.. Gore assist
ed the constable to quell a distur
bance out on the Guilford road one
evening. After drinking up the mans
supply of cider the visitors threw their
host out of his domicile and were hold
ing possession of the place when Mr..
Gore and the constable arrived. They
were invited to consider themselves un
der arrest and TO return TO Brattleboro
vita the minion of the law. Refusing
to accept the hospitality of the con-
stable it became necessary to employ
strong arm methods and Mr.. Gore, 1t
is said, gathered in the crowd of three
or four and threw them into the wag
on much after the manner that he was
wont to employ in loading a wagon
with wood.
Wnile Mr. Gore received a fair re-
Enumeration for his invention he did
not possess the lements of business
man and though he received prices for
his machinery that were considered
high in those days he failed to amass
money and died poor man, in fact
very poor nan. Burnham's History of
Brattleboro refers very briefly to the
inventor as having been engaged in
the manufacture of stationay engines
and boilers in Brattleboro from 1882
to 1916 and that he constructed a
steam. carriage in 1887. No mention
is made of his ancestry or whether he
was a native of Brattleboro. However
the survivors of the old guard in town
are of the belief that Mr. Gore was a
native of Brattleboro or If not that he
was born in this county. He was mar
ried and had a daughter, Franc who
married C. G. Whitney of New Haven,
Conn, a veteran commercial traveller
well known locally.-Brattleboro Re
former