Suomalaisen autoilun alkuvaiheita tutkiessani olen usein saanut kehotuksen katsoa, mitä paikallishistoriat aiheesta kirjoittavat. Toki olin niitä lukenut ja käyttänyt lähtei-nä, mutta systemaattisesti en ollut käynyt tätä historiakirjallisuudenlajia läpi. Syy oli yksinkertainen: Suomessa eri tasoisia paikallishistorioita on kirjoitettu todella pal-jon. Kunnille, kaupungeille, maakunnille ja lääneille oman historian kirjoituttaminen on ollut suosittu tapa juhlistaa omia merkkipäiviä. Joskus velvoite oman historian tutkituttamiseen on juonnettu kunnallislaista, mutta yleensä on vedottu menneiden sukupolvien työn kunnioittamiseen.%Summary: From horses to horsepower - How the early stages of the automobile are described in local histories This article looks into local histories and how the early stages of the automobile are described in them. Which issues are raised and in which contexts is the automobile examined? What types of sources are used and how do these sources affect the approach? The findings revealed that local histories cannot be used for determining a comprehensive or even an indicative mapping of the growth of the automobile use in Finland. Local studies often resort to specific automobile research and summarize that for their purposes. Local archive materials are seldom used, nor are new interpretations made. Local histories are at their best in explicating conflicts related to the early stages, drawing data from municipal archives. The histories of Kiiminki and Elimäki, for example, shed light on the attempts by the local population to influence automobile development. However, as documented in the local narratives, the protests appear as mere reactive hindrances to an inevitable development. Local histories focus on the arrival to the area of the automobile as well as the early stages of its increase in numbers. This information is primarily found in the sections on traffic and/ or local business or industry. In the local histories documenting the 1900s, mentions of the automobile and motoring are rarely missing. The focus is, however, on coaches, omnibuses and taxis rather than private automobiles. For their sources, the studies mainly rely on literature, specific automobile research. The longer the time-span documented, the more clearly the study focuses on the transition from horses to the automobile. It is unanimously agreed that this change began in the 1920s. Local histories also tend to depict the increase of the automobile as a story. Histories written in the 20lh century connect the automobile as part of a greater narrative on general progress and development, whereas the more recent local histories bring in parallel and sometimes contradictory developments thereby creating a more diverse story. In a few decades the automobile brought major changes to transportation, its organization as well as the work in related industries. Local histories take into account this development by mentioning details available to them, suited to their specific purposes and context.
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