In the Holman and Merriman Machine Shop opposite this location, George A. Long of Northfield, Massachusetts, built a steam-propelled four-wheel automobile in 1875 with a fifth wheel for steering. Fired by hardwood charcoal, the vehicle had a bicycle-type frame, ordinary wooden wheels, a solid rear axle, and could maintain 30 miles per hour when roads permitted. This early inventor later patented and built another automobile propelled by gasoline, now in the Smithsonian Institution.

Photo: Tony Farrick