Permanent Factory: Corner of West Seymour & Cuyler Cheboygan(Old Pea Canning Plant)-1914
Flaglor House: 2829 North Halstead Street, Chicago, Ill-1914-1917
Slogans of the Company:
No official slogan but the vehicle was touted as sturdy and inexpensive
Officers of the Company:
Elias S. Flaglor: President
Dr. Arthur M. Gerow: Vice President/Director
Warde L. Hagadorn: Secretary and Treasurer
James(Jimmy) Ward: Sales Manager(Planned but not hired)(Famous Aviator)
Sidney V. Flaglor(Son of Elias): Builder & Designer/Possible Treasurer
Wilkie C. Lumb: General Sales Manager(Connected with Ford also Flaglor's Brother-In-Law)
Dan J. McDonald: Director
J.F. Delnow: Factory Superintendent
What can i see today?
There are no examples of the Flagler known to exist. You can find out more information on the Flagler and the history of the Cheboygan area at the History Center of Cheboygan County. Address: 404 S. Huron St., Cheboygan MI Phone: (231) 627-9597 Website: http://www.cheboyganhistory.org/
The factory is still standing but is not open to the public. It was located in the old Cheboygan Pea Canning Company... Address: 418 S. Cuyler St., Cheboygan MI
The Flaglor house/first shop does not exist but would have been here...
The factory at 1334 Michigan Avenue does not exist but was at this location...
summary
Elias S. Flaglor was by trade a glass worker but was also an automotive tinkerer. Around 1911 he started to develop a prototype of a cyclecar which was the size of an early motorcycle but twice as wide. He started the Flagler Cycle Car Company out of his house in 1913 and quickly moved to a new temporary location. By 1914 he had moved the company to Cheboygan occupying and old pea canning factory. Trouble with design delayed the car but by April the company was incorporated and was slowly producing vehicles. A regular cyclecar and light delivery vehicle would be the beginning models and orders began to pour in. The vehicles received great reviews and were taken to Detroit to be shown and raced to prove their durability. Although the future seemed bright very few vehicles were made and by 1914 the company was in receivership. Flaglor continued to perhaps produce and sell them out of his house in Chicago where he started but by 1917 the company was officially bankrupt. Flaglor continued in the glass business and doesn't seem to have entered the automobile business in the years following.
The story
1913
The Flagler Cyclecar Company was established in Chicago by Elias S. Flaglor. Flaglor spent his life in the glass business before and after his stint with automobiles. Although there is no official Chicago start date, work had begun on a vehicle two years before the prototype was made in the late fall of 1913 at his home located at 2829 Halstead Avenue in Chicago. A temporary factory would later be set up at 1334 Michigan Avenue...
The cyclecar craze lasted just a few years and was considered a fad. It had quite a bit of momentum in the beginning and seemed to have a bright future...
In December it was announced the Flagler would be built in Chicago and was assumed the company would stay in that town...
1914
In January of 1914 the first 50 cars would be assembled in the temporary factory located at 1334 Michigan Avenue. Other automotive related businesses were near by...
The cyclecar craze was taking off with the 1914 auto shows Chicago and New York. The Flagler was displayed along with several other manufacturers and interest was immense which in turn spawned the Cyclecar Association of America...
The sample car made its debut on Monday March 23rd although it did not have the proper body on it. The Chamber of Commerce told the company they wanted the best vehicle to put forward because of the town's investment. A four cylinder water cooled model was desired but ultimately an air-cooled model was produced...
The articles of incorporation were filed in Lansing on April 3rd of 1914 and the officers were elected...
The New Orleans Cyclecar Company had a Flagler on display and was to be a major distributor for the vehicle. They also considered making their own cyclecar...
Frames were being shipped to the factory and the new superintendent took up residence on Cuyler St...
The car was priced at only $375 which at the time was cheaper than the Model T...
Parts and machinery continued to come in as well as orders including St. Petersburg, Russia and Madrid, Spain...
Catalogs were to be printed describing the new vehicles. The original pictured below shows the original markings of the desired edits by Sidney Flaglor who was the vehicle designer and builder...
Constructing a number of sample cars was a priority and the company hoped to have them out in a few weeks...
The press was finally allowed to print pictures of the Flagler. Orders were pouring in from all over the country and the world including New York, China, and South Africa...
Work on the factory continued...
The factory was finally finished and work officially began...
In June, the Flagler was making a mark in the automotive world...
A commercial car was constructed and shown around town with great reviews. It was to be shipped to New Orleans where sales were sure to be exceptional. A photo below shows what was known as a "light delivery" vehicle of that time...
More cars were being shipped and now the focus was on Detroit where the car would be shown at the automobile show and raced in July by Sidney Flaglor and W.C. Lumb...
The International Cyclecar Races were held in Detroit at the Michigan State Fair Grounds on July 4th and 5th. It was both a show and a durability race as many manufacturers attended. The Flagler now had its biggest audience ever...
Detroit as well as cities such as New York and Chicago would become the grand stages for car manufacturers which still continues today...
As interest grew, the manufacturers moved to push for all kinds of racing with the organization of the Cyclecar Manufacturers' National Association. Lumb would be elected to the board of directors...
J.F. Gelnow who was the factory superintendent had a short-lived career with the company staying just two months leaving in July. Perhaps he understood the fate of the company...
It seemed business was moving right along in August as a car a day was being produced and the 1915 model ad had been printed...
Although there was another race being planned in Newark, the company was virtually out of business. By September the company was in receivership and there was talk about merging it into another business for the sake of the stockholders. There was even talk of a hydroplane manufacturer to occupy the building but in September of 1915 the building was still vacant except for various small businesses...
As of January of 1916 the Flagler Cycle Car Company was still listed as a company at Flaglor's house in Chicago right where he started. It is assumed he produced and sold the vehicles from there until the official end of the company came on March 2nd, 1917...
W.C. Lumb went on to form the Lumb Motor Truck & Tractor Company in Illinois and put out its' first truck in early 1917...
Although James(Jimmy) Ward is listed as a sales manager there is no further evidence he worked for the company. He was a world famous aviator as seen here in 1911...
Court proceedings continued into September of 1919...
The Flagler was short lived in part because of the cyclecar craze that lasted from approximately 1913-1917. The industry was based on cheap transportation that really wasn't practical. Competition from other auto companies and the success of the Model "T" were factors in the fate of many automobile companies of that day.
