ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—This advertisement takes us back a full 115 years to September of 1904, when Varley’s in Englewood was pushing the 15-horsepower Pierce at a price of $2,500.
Back in 1904, it would have been impossible to foresee just how thoroughly the advent of the automobile would change our lives.
The year prior, in 1903, the president of the Michigan Savings Bank, George Peck, famously advised Henry Ford’s lawyer, Horace Rackham, not to invest in the Ford Motor Company.
“The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty— a fad,” Peck had said.
Indeed, at the dawn of the 20th century, automobiles were thought of as playthings for the wealthy, and thus owning one was a status symbol rather than a necessity (in fact, the cost of the Pierce shown in this ad—$2,500—would be over $72,000 in today’s dollars).
The vast majority of people still viewed the tried and true horse and carriage as the mode of transportation that would carry America into the future. In those days, horses and the newly arrived “horseless carriages” (automobiles) shared the dirt roads of Englewood.
One of the city’s earliest auto dealers was William P. Varley, who opened his shop on Van Brunt Street. “When in trouble call Varley,” was his slogan. He operated a garage, sold cars, and also ran a chauffeur service.
When 31-year-old Varley married Miss Margaret Spiers Livingston at the West Side Presbyterian Church in 1902, his wedding announcement read, “The groom [is the] proprietor of a large locomobile and bicycle emporium on Van Brunt Street.”
The couple lived on Knickerbocker Road near West Palisade Avenue in a house that’s still standing today.
Varley also kept a large bus with a seating capacity for 17. The vehicle was such a novelty that newspapers reported on “the big machine” at Varley’s. Parties could rent it at $35 a day, or take a ride for 25 cents.
At the time, the Northern Valley was a vacation destination for people looking to escape New York City for time in the “country,” and Varley capitalized on this.
A 1904 news report paints the following picture: “Englewood is taking on all the appearances of a summer resort. Our stores and streets are crowded with the leading lights of society and their offspring…and now Varley has a large 17-seat mobile and is making daily visits to Bergenfields [sic] with an interested crowd of sightseers.”
It seems Varley didn’t just enjoy fixing and selling autos, but he also loved driving them—fast. In 1905 the Englewood City Council admonished him for speeding.
“I have a complaint to make against Varley,” Council President Johnson said at a September 1905 meeting. “I noticed him zig-zagging across Grand Avenue not long ago and if it had been convenient I would have had him arrested at once. He must remember that he can’t use Englewood for a speeding ground.”
Did you know? In 1897, tooth powder manufacturer Edward H. Lyon purchased the first car in Englewood, a Duryea. Local newspapers made mention of his “horseless carriage.” One wrote, “It took Palisade hill at a greater speed than a horse could make.” —Kristin Beuscher
