Vehicle manufacturers in Syracuse, New York

During the years 1884 through 1934 there were a total of twenty different automobile makes in Syracuse, New York. Manufacturing was not limited to passenger cars as there were several trucks and motorcycles built in the city as well.[1]

History

Many of the earlier makes were one-of-a-kind; "some were built with expectations of great success", while others were built for personal use or a specific reason.[1] According to the Chamber of Commerce in 1909, producers of vehicles for land transportation in the city totaled ten, with a total employee count of 2,225 workers.[2]

Auto manufacturing

1902 advertisement for a Brennan engine

Some of the known models were the Fox (1904), Leggett (1903–1905), New York (1900–1902), Onondaga (1909), Tower (1899), Wonder (1909) and the Yarian (1925).[1]

Brennan

Brennan Motor Manufacturing Company, established in 1897,[3] began in the engine business and switched to the manufacturer of automobiles for six years and then moved back to the engine business.[4]

Brower

Carrie Brower in 1890

The Brower was a one-of-a-kind automobile, built by Frederick C. Brower of Syracuse for his daughter, Carolyn, then living with her parents at 624 South Crouse Avenue. Brower, a locksmith, spent his spare time building the machine, and it took several months to complete. The automobile was a two-passenger, one-cylinder gasoline-operated "affair"[1] and was built largely of bicycle and buggy parts, but it caused quite a lot of comment in the community.[5]

The actual date of completion is unknown and ranges anywhere from 1884 to 1895. If the automobile was built before 1893, it might have been one of the first successful automobiles made in America, predating the automobile designed by J. Frank Duryea of Duryea Motor Wagon Company which is the current record holder.[1]

The Onondaga Historical Society in Syracuse has been trying to find proof for several years that the vehicle was running before September 22, 1893, when J. Frank Duryea had the first road test of the car that later bore his name, since considered the first vehicle in operation in the United States.[5]

Century Roadster - 1903

Century

Century Motor Vehicle Company were manufacturers of both an electric model and a steam powered model from 1899 to 1903.[4]

Franklin

Advertisement - Syracuse Herald, November 4, 1909

In 1900, Herbert H. Franklin, founder of the H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company and the first in the world in the machine die-casting business, moved his company to the Lipe Shop.[6] Later, Franklin teamed with Syracuse resident, John Wilkinson and established the Franklin Automobile Company.[6]

Iroquois

In February 1903, J. S. Leggett, local carriage maker, made the decision to switch to automobile manufacturing. He named his car the Iroquois. That same month, Leggett reorganized his carriage company and renamed it J. S. Leggett Manufacturing Company[7] which was later changed to Iroquois Motor Car Company. The Iroquois was a compact car with an advanced design. It had a four-cylinder water-cooled engine rated at 15 horsepower. The company built runabout and tonneau models in Syracuse up to 1904 when they relocated to Seneca Falls (village), New York.[8]

Julian

The Julian was another single-unit model. The prototype had a radical air-cooled engine and was built by Julian Brown Development Company at a cost estimated at US$70,000 to US$75,000. The car was never produced and the prototype is in the Harrah's collection in Reno, Nevada.[1]

Moyer

H. A. Moyer - Manufacturer of the Moyer pat. side spring and side bar wagon - 32, 35, 37, 38 & 39 Wolf Street - 1884

H. A. Moyer Automobile Company, a manufacturer of luxury automobiles in Syracuse from 1908 to 1915. They began business several decades earlier as a carriage and wagon manufacturer.[9]

Olive

An announcement was made in 1901 by F. W. Gridley of the Olive Wheel Company that the firm would begin manufacture of automobiles in 1902. A steam carriage with condensing system was in the planning stages.[10]

Stearns

The Stearns Steam Carriage Company, a manufacturer of steam powered automobiles beginning in 1900, turned out a large number of machines in 1901 and its exhibit at the Pan-American exposition was successful. By 1904 the company went out of business.[10] Edward C. Stearns, president and founder, had established several other manufacturing plants in Syracuse including E. C. Stearns & Company, E. C. Stearns Bicycle Agency and Wholesale Bi-steam Carriage Company.[11]

Van Wagoner

Van Wagoner produced automobiles in Syracuse between the years 1899 and 1893. They were manufactured by the Syracuse Automobile Company who changed the name of the vehicle to Syracuse by 1903 shortly before they went out of business.[12]

Zimmer

The Zimmer Motorcars Corporation was established in 1978 and is a manufacturer of neo-classic automobiles. The company was purchased in 1997 by Art Zimmer and is known as Zimmer Motor Car Company. The company, based in Jamesville, New York, sells Retro style automobiles internationally and has dealerships in countries around the world such as Saudi Arabia and Estonia.[13]

Motorcycle manufacturing

Ner-a-Car

The Ner-a-Car was a type of feet forwards motorcycle designed by Carl Neracher in 1918. Approximately 6,500 Ner-a-Cars are believed to have been produced between 1921 and 1927 in England, and another 10,000 Neracars (note different spelling) in the United States.

Truck manufacturing

In addition to automobiles, Syracuse was the home of three truck manufacturers. The city was practically the home of the air-cooled engine industry with all three of the truck manufacturers besides Franklin Automobile Company producing this type vehicle.[14]

Chase

Chase Motor Truck Company, 1913

Biggest of these was Chase Motor Truck Company, which in its heyday was "a greater factor in the field than Franklin." In the days when a 1,000 trucks a year "rolled out of the red brick buildings in West and Otisco streets, Chase rivaled White Motor Company, Maxwell and other leaders in the truck industry.[15]

Palmer-Moore

Palmer-Moore Company, 1916

Palmer-Moore Company also manufactured trucks in the city with choice of an air-cooled or water-cooled engines. They began business in 1902 as a manufacturer of motor engines and marine engines.[15]

Sanbert/Sanford

Starting in 1909, Sanford-Herbert Motor Truck Company produced two lines of commercial vehicles, both with air-cooled engines. By 1939 they were specializing in the production of ambulances.[4]

Auto manufacture in surrounding counties

At least thirteen other automobile makes were built in Central New York. Oswego County accounts for three including the B.Z.T Cyclecar Company (1914–1915), Pell Motor Car Company (1910) and the Hunter in 1900, which was manufactured by the Hunter Gun and Cycle Works in Fulton, New York.[1]

The Hatfield was built by the Hatfield Motor Vehicle Company in Cortland, New York in 1907. Another automobile, called the Cortland was built by the Murray Company in Homer in 1916.[1]

The Beverly was built in Ithaca during the years 1904 and 1905 by the Motor and Manufacturing Works Company.[1]

During 1902, the Conger Manufacturing Company in Groton (village), New York built a car called the Conger.[1]

In Watertown, located in Jefferson County, New York, the Babcock Highwheeler was built by H. H. Babcock Company from 1909 until 1913. The Denne Motor Car was built from 1917 to 1920 in that city by the New York Air Brake Company.[1]

The American C.G.V., a vehicle of French design, was built in the Rome Locomotive Works for Smith and Mabley of New York City in 1903. Another automobile called the Roman was built by the Rome Motor Vehicle Company in 1909.[1]

Seneca Falls, New York was home to the Gould Steamer in 1900 and the Iroquois by the Iroquois Motor Car Company, who moved there from Syracuse in 1905 and continued production until 1907.[1]

Plans were made to build the Tuttle in 1903 by the D. M. Tuttle Company in Baldwinsville, New York; however the vehicle was never produced. An automobile named the Cady was in the planning stages in Auburn, but never materialized.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Automobile Spurred Growth of Central N.Y. Industry". Farber and Associates, LLC 2009-2011. January 10, 1984.
  2. ↑ "Prosperous Syracuse of 1910 Teems With Industrial Activity". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. September 12, 1910.
  3. ↑ Hillenbrand, Dick. "A List of Syracuse Businesses from an 1948 Syracuse Centennial Dinner Program". Ancestry.com, March 4, 1999. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 "Tenth Anniversary Takes Place Today". Syracuse Herald. Syracuse, New York. June 23, 1912.
  5. 1 2 Morgan, Jennie A. (May 6, 1956). "Anybody Seen This Vehicle?". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York.
  6. 1 2 "Syracuse to Share Auto Prosperity". Syracuse Herald. Syracuse, New York. January 13, 1928.
  7. ↑ "Leggett Carriage Co. - 1880s-1907 - Syracuse, New York". Coachbuilt Inc. - 2004. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  8. ↑ "The Iroquois Automobile & The Iroquois Motor Car Co.". American Automobiles - 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  9. ↑ "Directory of American Tool and Machinery Patents". Datamp, 2003–2010. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  10. 1 2 "Wheels Hum in Midsummer an Unprecedented Era of Prosperity". Syracuse Herald. Syracuse, New York. July 14, 1901.
  11. ↑ Notable Men of Central New York. Dwight J. Stoddard, 1903. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  12. ↑ David Burgess Wise. The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles.
  13. ↑ "Zimmer Motor Car Company". Zimmer Motor Car Co., 2010. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  14. ↑ Automotive Industries, Volume 26. The Automobile Weekly, The Class Journal Company, New York. N.Y., June, 1912. Retrieved 2010-07-18.
  15. 1 2 "Local Autos Once Sold Widely". Syracuse Journal. Syracuse, New York. March 20, 1939.
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