On Dec. 17, 1908, the Fairbanks Daily News Miner wrote that "Fairbanks streets have taken on a decidedly metropolitan air with two large automobiles gliding swiftly about the city," then a bustling Interior gold-mining town nestled on the banks of the Chena River.

The first car hit the streets in August 1908, according to historian Nancy DeWitt with the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, and the second and third car made their debuts on Dec. 15 and Dec. 16 of that year.

Next May, Fairbanks' first automobiles will be celebrated in an exhibit at the Fountainhead museum. Photos of the first cars in Fairbanks will be part of a exhibit titled "Driving to Extremes: Alaska's Automotive Pioneers and their Remarkable Rides."

The exhibit "will focus on our state's rich and entertaining automotive history, beginning with the very first car made in Alaska," DeWitt wrote.

She continued:

"Extreme cold, deplorable road conditions and an absence of repair shops meant that Alaskan motorists required tremendous ingenuity and resourcefulness. Historic photographs and videos will illustrate the unique motoring challenges these drivers faced, including the navigation of glacial streams, avalanche chutes, and deep snow. The exhibit will also features displays on the Valdez-Fairbanks Trail, the Great Race of 1908, the first automobile races in Fairbanks and cold-weather driving."

Alaska's first automobile was made in 1905 by a man who had never seen an automobile before. His horseless carriage will be on display during the summer exhibit, alongside a dozen original Alaska cars.

The Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum has been open more than four years, and its rare automobiles have won prestigious national awards.

The automobile collection includes more than 80 vehicles, from horseless carriages to speedsters and cycle-cars. Most of the vehicles are still driven today, and the museum writes that in this sense it is a "living museum."

DeWitt said the museum not only hosts dozens of vehicles, but also a large collection of turn-of-the-century fashions and vintage photographs blown up to as big as 6 feet, which line the walls.