The Machine Age
August 17, 2022
Carol Jenkner
Santa Fe Trail Center
Smith, Donovan, Stafford, Jones; are these names recognizable as automobile companies to anyone? In fact, all of these and more were automobile manufacturers in Kansas at one time. Kansas has an amazing history of mechanical invention from automobiles, to farm equipment, to aeronautics. How many have heard of Studebaker, REO, Overland, Mitchell, Hudson, Essex? These were all automobiles, too. The last of these to go was Studebaker. Now we have a host of international cars to choose from all made on automated, computer driven assembly lines.
Besides the romance with internal combustion engines, there were several electric car makers in the Kansas City, Kansas area as well as the steam engines. An online article on the VisitKC website talks about the three types of engines in the early days. The electric car was simple; you turned it on and it moved forward. The problem was the battery life and top speed was only 50-60 mph.
The gasoline engine was difficult. It was hard to starts, often had to be cranked and that process could break and man’s arm. The steam engine might take up to 20 minutes to get started, but once started worked great and was very fast. But you had to have a steady supply of wood or coal to keep the water boiling to make the steam.
There were up to twenty companies manufacturing automobiles in Kansas City, Kansas in the early 1900s. The lone survivors of all of this automobiles manufacturing were Chevrolet and Ford, both of whom moved plants into the Kansas City area in the early 20th century.
An American president drove a car manufactured by a Topeka man. Before he was president, Harry Truman purchased a 1911 Stafford touring car in 1913. He noted that it was a very good car and lasted him for three years before he wore it out.
Imagine this: from 1911-1920 Pawnee County boasted the highest per capita automobile ownership of any county in the entire United States!
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment