Jack(John) Beebe who went on to build and race boats, break speed records, and become the head engineer for the Wills Ste. Claire Motor Company had a boat shop in Port Huron as one of his many businesses.
What can I see today?
The building that the shop occupied is still standing today. Address: 3592 Military Street, Port Huron, MI 48060
the story
Jack(John) Beebe was an inventor, racer, and engineer that made a huge impact on several industries but his name is widely unknown. He and his brother Martin were boat builders as early as 1905 in Marine City creating a company called Beebe Brothers & Salsbury and in 1907 Martin is listed with Salsbury...
In 1908 Jack(John) and Johnny Milot invented their own "Ice Motor Boat" that reached speeds of 70m.p.h. It is thought to be a precursor to the modern snowmobile...
In 1910 Beebe and M.L. Baldwin who ran the St. Clair Iron Works got together to build the "Beebe" automobile. They appear to have built a prototype and had orders for 5 more but it is not clear if the units were built...
The Beebe Brothers went to work for the Smith-Ryan Boat & Engine Company in Algonac which later became known as Chris-Craft. There they were building boats and modifying engines...
In 1915 Jack(John) Beebe and Johnny Milot entered the Gold Cup races with Johhny as the driver and Jack(John) as the riding mechanic. Johnny got seasick half-way through and Jack(John) drove the boat to victory doing the same the following year. The Beebe brothers, Milot, Gar Wood, and Chris Smith(Chris-Craft) are largely responsible for the boating and boat racing industries as we know them today...
Beebe went to work for C. Harold Wills in 1916 and was asked to build a boat for him. Wills was the chief engineer for Henry Ford helping design the Model "T" including the planetary transmission(an early model of today's automatic transmission) and also designed the script on the Ford logo used today...
Photo Courtesy of the Wills Ste. Claire Museum
Jack(John) was the first person to build and pilot a boat over 70m.p.h. which he accomplished in 1917...
Wills and Beebe went into business together with Beebe taking the position of head engineer for the Wills Ste. Claire Motor Company in Marysville. He designed the V-8 engine to be used which was ahead of its time and ten years sooner than Henry Ford presented his motor in 1932...
Photo Courtesy of the Henry Ford Musuem
Wills was out of business by 1927 and Beebe went back to work for Chris Smith(Chris-Craft) helping him develop engines. In 1928 Beebe opened "Beebe's Boat Works" in the building of the old Walker Electrical Refrigeration Company. The venture only lasted about a year...
Beebe continued working with boats and various projects until his passing in 1953.
