Temporary factory: 321 E. Chisolm St.(W.C. French Machine Shop)
Permanent Factory: 150 Elm St. and 801 Johnson St.(Both were actually connected to the same location according to the Sanborn Maps).
Slogans
"The Greatest Value For The Prices"
"So Simple A Child Can Operate It"
Officers of the Company:
D.D. Hanover: President
Richard Collins: President at the end of 1911
William Krebs: Vice President
W.B. Roberson: Secretary/Treasurer
Patrick Culligan: Board of Directors
C.H. Nunneley: Board of Directors also Purchasing Agent
H.V. Groesbeck: Board of Directors/Head of Sales
W.M. Trombley: Board of Directors
David E. Levyn: Board of Directors
J.A. Corben: Board of Directors
George Masters: Board of Directors
Fred N. Potter: Board of Directors
David E. Levyn: Board of Directors
George E. Gately: Superintendent
Irwin D. Rocap: Chief Engineer/Factory Manager after Cately/Purchasing Agent after Nunneley
George E. Cately: Factory Superintendent
H.G. Schwoeppe(Schwaeppe): Engineer
Jos. Gearman: Head Tool Maker
E.J. Gale: Factory Superintendent
Mrs. A. Dennis: Trim Department Worker
Edward Evertz: Engine Tester
Edward Bleau: Engine Tester
F.A. Rhodes: General Factory Representative for the Eastern half of the country
What can i see today?
There is one 1911 Alpena Flyer known to exist and it is located at the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan in Alpena. Address: 491 Johnson St., Alpena, MI Phone: (989) 356-2202 Website: https://www.bessermuseum.org/
The first factory was used as a temporary location as the permanent structure was being built. It was housed in the machine shop of W.C. French where a parking lot sits today at approximately 321 E. Chisholm St....
The factory is still standing but is not open to the public. It is part of the Besser Company World Headquarters. Address: 801 Johnson St. Alpena MI
summary
The Alpena Motor Car Company was founded in July of 1910. The firm was actually a transplant of the Wolverine Motor Car Company that was located in Mt. Clemens, MI in January of 1910 but never got off the ground. A prototype had been built and helped convince the Chamber of Commerce to let the firm relocate in Alpena. Initially cars were assembled in the shop of W.C. French and would later be assembled in a new plant which opened in October of that year. Interest was immediate and orders were pouring in including one for 500 vehicles from a Philadelphia sales branch that was to market to the East Coast. Vehicles were shown at the auto show in New York as well as several other cities and reviews were excellent. The company built approximately 480 vehicles before declaring bankruptcy due to being sued of patent infringement. By July of 1914 the company was for sale. The Alpena Motor Car Company had hoped to be the next Detroit as did neighboring Gaylord as they looked to replace a dying lumber industry however neither succeeded.
the story
1910
In January the Wolverine Motor Car Company had been formed in Mt. Clemens, MI and sites were being considered in that city. A prototype vehicle had been made by H. G. Schweoppe and an announcement was put into print on what firm would manufacture the bodies. It seems those initial plans is how far the company had gotten before it was transferred/ absorbed to Alpena...
Interest in the new Alpena venture first appeared in the news April 14th as plans were coming together...
The business proposition was made to the Chamber of Commerce...
The Chamber of Commerce then held a special meeting...
W.B. Roberson was trying to get things together as other automotive related companies were also inquiring about Alpena...
Alpena residents were hopeful to land the auto plant...
The community rejoices at the new industry coming to town...
The Alpena Motor Company was formally incorporated on June 13th...
While the plant was being built, the work was already going on at the machine shop of W.C. French at the foot of Chisholm Street which is where the demonstration car (an Alpena 35) was assembled. A prototype vehicle had already been made by engineer H.G. Schwoeppe when he was with the Wolverine Motor Car Company of Mt. Clemens(the company which became the Alpena Motor Car Company). French would be the person to drive the first car off the assembly line at the newly built facility...
$50,000 was raised between Alpena and Mt. Clemens. $450,000 was the total capital in the business...
The plans were now in place to build a modern auto factory...
June 20th saw the incorporation papers recorded in Lansing. As the factory progressed, it was said that about 15 cars would be assembled at French's machine shop...
Research was done at other automobile plants in Detroit and other cities to make the new plant and car as attractive, durable, modern and efficient as possible...
Talk of a body plant and a possible commercial vehicle were among topics at a June 27th Chamber of Commerce meeting...
Plans for the new plant were completed...
The plant site was readied...
On Monday July 11th the building began and the parts started to arrive...
Interest in the new vehicle poured in from all over...
By the 23rd of July, the new foundation was already completed and the company was receiving orders...
The plant continues to progress...
Agency inquiries continued to pour in. Again there was talk of a light delivery wagon for farmers and retailers that would sell for less than $1000. In neighboring Gaylord, the Gaylord Motor Car Company was marketing a similar vehicle for farmers. The "Utility" was both a car and truck with a removable back seat for hauling. The touted themselves as "Pioneers in Utility Vehicles"...
August 13th saw a contract signed for 500 "Flyers". Unfortunately as bright as the future looked they would never produce that many total vehicles...
The quality of the vehicles is one of the advantages that would set them apart including the steering gear, a special oiling device, and three-point suspension. It was thought that maybe it was too much value for the money. Later the company would be sued over the three-point suspension for patent infringement which ultimately brought the company down...
Work and organization of the new company continued...
C.L. Jackson would come to Alpena to close his business deal with the auto firm and become the distributor of the vehicles to the East Coast...
Jos. Gearmen became the chief tool maker. He was once employed by C.F. Steele who would become the agent and seller of the "Flyer" in Alpena...
Other companies saw the new venture as a marketing opportunity including a cigar maker that would hand out their product at the motor car company's open house...
Assembly and production begins at the plant on Monday October 24th...
The factory as it looked in 1930...
Vehicles were put through six months of exhaustive tests to ensure durability. This test shows some office staff including Nunneley and Rocap who was the head engineer...
Requests were put out to both house and continue to hire workers at the new plant...
After only a week new automobiles were being produced and an open house was being planned for the public. Three models would be produced initially...
The Alpena Motor Car Company open house finally arrives on November 25th...
The office of C.L. Jackson started to receive the Alpena order for distribution to the East Coast...
Detroit and Cleveland also were marketing and selling the cars. The Goodfellow Motor Sales Company would show the Alpena at the auto show in January...
Advertising was appearing in several newspapers and automotive related publishing...
On December 19th an ad went out for orders of the 1911 models from Steele's Garage which was the local sales agent...
1911
The vehicles were shown at auto shows including New York with other local brands manufactured in Gaylord and Flint...
Promotional brochures were given out at the 1911 New York show. This partial brochure is provided by the New York Public Library...
The vehicles continued to gain very high favor. Orders were being made in Albany, New York and vehicles were also sold as far away as Australia in 1911 and in 1912...
In June H.V. Groesbeck raced an "Alpena Flyer" against a Regal automobile in Grosse Pointe, MI on a one mile track. Although Groesbeck lost it attracted many spectators...
At the end of 1911 the future was looking bright for the company. Eight new models were planned and new officers and directors were elected...
1912
Cars were once again in several shows including Hartford, Des Moines, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Albany, and Winnipeg...
Cars were offered with the brand new self-starting option...
The new year continued to go well with growing interest and sales. Marketing and sales were also increasing including a donated 50-6(essentially a light delivery vehicle though none were formally produced) for the Northeastern Michigan Development Bureau...
A lawsuit filed in mid 1912 was the demise of the company. The North American Vehicle Company was suing several companies over patent infringement of a three-point suspension system. It bought the rights to the patent from Emil Huber in 1905...
The Alpena Motor Car Company as well as the Gaylord Motor Car Company had big dreams to become the Detroit of Northern Michigan hoping to replace their dying lumber industry. Neither company was producing vehicles after 1914. Many of the independent automobile companies of the day had their inventories bought by A. O. Dunk of the Puritan Machine Company in Detroit who also made replacement parts to service the remaining vehicles. Dunk later ran Detroit Electric until it closed in 1939...
Many of the early automobile companies had employees that had come from or were going to other manufacturers. Irwin .D. Rocap went on to become the production manager for the Lincoln Motor Car Company...
references
Besser Museum
Besser World Headquarters
Alpena Library
Library of Congress-Sanborn Map-1910
Standard Catalog of American Cars-Clark/Kimes
New York Times-November 1910
Automobile Topics-Volume 20/21-1910
The Automobile-1912
Automotive Industries-Volume 30-1914
The Motor World-Volume 32-1912
The Automobile Trade Directory-Volume 15-1917
Motor-Volume 21-1913
Alpena Evening News-April-December-1910
The Michigan Manufacturer-1911/1912
Clare Sentinel-January-1911
Automotive Journal-Volume 33-1912
The Horseless Age-Volume 22-1910
Motor World Wholesale-Volumes 28/29-1911
Michigan Manufacturing Record-1912
Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal-1911/Volume16-1912
