For three years beginning in 1897, Watertown’s James Woolson labored in his garage and built a primitive automobile of his own design

 For three years beginning in 1897, Watertown’s James Woolson labored in his garage and built a primitive automobile of his own design

. To create this early horseless carriage, he installed a gasoline engine into a buggy.

Things didn't work out as he had hoped. 

Woolson’s real job was running his father’s factory (seen here) which made mouse traps and umbrellas and parasols parts. The Woolson factory was a big sprawling place at the end of Woolson Street near the intersection of Northfield Road and Merriman Lane.

Once Woolson’s new-fangled auto was complete and ready to drive, he made arrangements for the factory to shut down for five minutes so he could show off his contraption. 

The plan was to drive the buggy to the factory and all the employees would be able to witness its arrival. 

The factory had plenty of windows, and at the designated time all the workers headed for those windows in anticipation of the show. 

Proud as could be, Woolson drove down the street and pulled onto the factory property. Every eye was upon him when suddenly, before reaching the buildings and for no apparent reason, the buggy stopped. 

The viehcle wouldn’t budge and as one witness stated, “It was done for the day”. 

Instead of applauding the effort, the large audience of employees burst into laughter. 

Woolson was humiliated by the failure of his machine and suffered further indignity when horses had to be hooked to the experimental car to tow it back to his garage.

We can never know what was going on in James Woolson’s mind as he built his experimental car. As an industrialist, perhaps he was hoping to start an automobile company like so many others at the time.

 

Literally hundreds of auto brands made it into production in those early years. Had this first experimental car fared better, who knows? Maybe today you might have a Woolson in your garage instead of a Ford or Chevy. 

Soon after James Woolson’s embarrassing escapade at the factory, he bought a brand new 1899 Locomobile. 

The little steam-powered car would not only earn its place in local history as the town’s first real car, but decades later it would go on to become a famous museum piece and the inspiration for a popular 1951 children’s book.