1905-1 gas powered car(Also sold to H.E. Stover and the example in the museum)
1907-1 gas powered car(nearly identical to the 1905)
1908- 1 Touring Car(made for Johnson family personal use)
1914-1 Truck(made from Ford car parts)
Approximate Number of Cars Built:
5
Factory Address:
First address assumed at his home on Lincoln Street
237 S. Cedar St.(1901-1902)
Officers, Investors, and Workers of the Company:
Elmer F. Johnson: President and Owner
What can i see today?
There is one vehicle made by Elmer Johnson known to exist. The vehicle known as the "Elmer" resides in the Kalkaska County Historical Museum.. Address: 339-373 S. Cedar St., Kalkaska MI Phone: (231) 258-4854 Website: http://downtownkalkaska.com/KalkaskaHistoricalSocietyandMuseum
The first shop was believed to have been operated at his residence. The second shop was constructed at 237 South Cedar Street and remained until approximately 2019. The building has been knocked down and is now just a field. Photos were taken of the building in 2017... Address: 237 South Cedar Street, Kalkaska MI
summary
Elmer F. Johnson was born in Pontiac, MI and moved to Detroit where he was a machinist and artificial limb maker. He and his family moved to Kalkaska around the end of 1892 and by 1893 he had established the Elmer F. Johnson Cycle Works. He was not only a bicycle builder but also a gunsmith, repairman, and bladesmith. He started designing and building a steam-powered automobile around 1902 and subsequently built three more cars and a truck over the next several years. Around 1925 he moved his family to Grand Rapids where he resided the rest of his life. The second vehicle he built is on display at the Kalkaska County Historical Museum.
The story
1869-1893
Elmer F. Johnson was born in Pontiac, MI later moving to Detroit where he worked as a machinist and artificial limb maker until the family moved to Kalkaska around the end of 1892...
Johnson established the Elmer F. Johnson Cycle Works in 1893 presumably working out of his house on Lincoln Street... This reference from 1898 shows a residence next door to the location and the second states it was at the "north part of town" which is where the Johnson house was.
1896-1898
Johnson built and worked on bicycles and sewing machines among other items as seen here in the first local ad for the business in January 1896...
The shop had to be expanded as stated in December of 1896 as business began to take off...
Johnson made local bicycles called the "Kalkaska" as shown here in this ad from 1898 and started a bicycle club putting nearly all of Kalkaska on wheels. He also built bicycles for Montgomery Ward...
1901
The shop was to be expanded in June of 1901 but by July it had become apparent that it would have to move to the new location at 237 South Cedar Street...
1902
The first mention of Johnson constructing a car came in February of 1902....
In December he was still tinkering away and stated that it would be perhaps the first steam-powered vehicle built in Michigan...
1903
Johnson was listed under automobile manufacturers in 1903...
1904
In April of 1904 it appeared Johnson was still working on the vehicle...
By June and July the vehicle was completed and being test driven...
By October the car was finished...
This vehicle was sold to H.E.. Stover who was the druggist in town and a good friend of Johnson.. This is verified by a good friend of Johnson's daughter Elizabeth....
In December Johnson announced he would be building 2 more vehicles....
One vehicle would be sold to Stover as he was not pleased with the steam vehicle. It is most likely this vehicle was finished in 1905 and is the surviving vehicle in the museum. The vehicle was originally titled as a 1905 model and may explain the inscribed wheel centers. Mr. and Mrs. Stover are pictured below...
This photo shows the steam-powered car as well as the 1905 model. Pictured are the Johnsons, Stovers, and C. Kryger who owned a store in town.
1907
The second vehicle was nearing completion in June of 1907 and was to be sold to Dr. Pearsall who was the town physician until 1914...
The car was finished in August and was built presumably identical to the 1905 model. This is where the name "Elmer" was officially given...
1907 was a busy year for Johnson in many ways. He was expanding his shop for automobiles and seems to have had a brief stint as a Ford agent. The ad shows the Model R as the Model T would not come out until the next year...
1908
The fourth car built by Johnson was a touring car which he built specifically for his family. It was completed by May of 1908...
The new vehicle was driven to this trip of the Johnson and Stover families to Torch Lake in 1910...
1908-1909
Advertisements in the Michigan Gazetteer still showed Johnson as an automobile manufacturer of the "Elmer" automobiles...
1914
The last recorded vehicle Johnson "produced" was a truck built out of the ruins of a Ford car in 1914...
1918
Johnson continued working on vehicles through the years including the first tractor in Kalkaska in 1918...
1921-1938
By 1921 Johnson was apparently no longer running the business and by 1925 the Johnson family left Kalkaska and moved to Grand Rapids. Elmer lived out his remaining years there working part of the time as a Night Watchman. His legacy in Kalkaska is not forgotten nor is his father's as he was described in his obituary as a veteran of the Civil War and a pioneer in the county...
1938-
Years later the "Elmer" was in the paper for sale. The vehicle is claimed to have found in a barn and was owned by Robert J. Boudeman from 1953 until the early 1970's when it was purchased by Rose Ash. It was driven in parades until 1979 and is now on permanent display. Boudeman and Ash are pictured below...
The document below is from several people claiming 1898 as the year the "Elmer" was manufactured. Although this is possible, the evidence of another testimony as well as newspaper accounts show the first vehicle being manufactured in 1904...
references
Kalkaska County Historical Museum
Standard Catalog of American Cars-Clark/Kimes
Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory-1903/1907/1908
Kalkaska Leader-1893-1927
Library of Congress-Sanborn Maps-1900/1909/1917/1927
