Did you know that what was likely the first automobile accident in Canada took place in Owen Sound? It happened on a sunny day just after the turn of the 20th century when a neophyte driver ran Alfred J. Frost’s pioneering car into a tree.
Frost was truly a remarkable man. Born in Owen Sound in 1866, he was destined to be a child of the next century. Cutting his teeth on a penny farthing bicycle, he quickly became obsessed with the brand new invention of the internal combustion car. Making the trip to Toronto to see a Stanley Steamer, he went on to Sherbrooke, Quebec to drive a gas powered vehicle built by George Foss in 1898. The next year, A. J. built the fourth gasoline-powered automobile ever to be constructed in Canada.
It was a small sloped box-like affair with seats for two. Steered by a device that looked like the tiller for a sailboat, it had a full set of elliptic springs that sort of looked like they had come off a farm wagon. Some in Owen Sound thought it looked like a horse-drawn cutter – without the horse. The top speed of Frost’s marvelous machine was a breathtaking 18 miles an hour, excellent for the age of plodding horses. Gas mileage was a thrifty 36 miles per gallon and the whole car didn’t weigh 700 pounds.
To the cry of “get a horse”, Alfred J. Frost drove his contraption through the streets of Owen Sound. Smitten by cars, in 1912 he opened an agency selling Whites and McLaughlins. A. J. Frost’s pioneer automobile ended its life without an engine. It was used as the frame for a milk wagon by a local dairy, serving out its days being hauled around by a horse.
Originally aired March 23rd 2016
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