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Walter E. Nichols, a cutlery manufacturer in Greenfield, Massachusetts, is pictured here with family members in his 1901 Locomobile Steam Surrey. The Locomobile Company operated between 1899 and 1929, with plants in Watertown, Worcester, and Westborough, Massachusetts. The Nichols, who lived on Crescent Street, may have converted their barn, seen behind them, into a garage for their automobile. Nichols' car was, for a brief period in August, 1901, the only automobile in Greenfield. It could reach a speed of twelve miles an hour. By 1904, Greenfield had enough cars that the newspaper printed a letter decrying the danger posed by the many cars that raced down Main Street at twenty-five miles an hour, "altogether too great for the safety of any one."

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