ORMOND GARAGE/BIRTHPLACE OF SPEED

Years In Operation: 1902-
Owners/Developers: Henry Flagler(also owner of Ormond Hotel)/Robert E. Lowe
Promoters: Henry Flagler/Sen. William J. Morgan(Also the originator of the Mt. Washington Hill Climb)
Type of Track: Straight/Speed Trials/Manufacturer Testing
Track Surface: Sand

what can i see today?

The original garage burned down in 1976.  There is a historical marker on that site today as well as some original pavers and benches that survived the fire.
Address: 113 East Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach, FL 32176
A replica building was built and dedicated on March 28th, 2013 exactly 110 years after the first race.  The exit sign shown was saved as the building started to burn.  It is the only internal artifact to survive.
Address: 21 Ocean Shore Blvd, Ormond Beach FL 32174
This second garage was built in 1919 as a repair and engine shop.  It currently houses the replica Stanley Steamer Rocket.
Address: 48 West Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach FL 32174
Website: https://www.ormondgarage.beer/

the interview

Dan Smith is with the Ormond Beach Historical Society and is the foremost authority on the history of beach racing.  Here he explains how he got interested in history...
Automobiles were just starting to catch on at the turn of the century and there was no place to test them.  Henry Flagler would give inventors a place to do just that...
Ormond Beach earned the name "Birthplace of Speed" with many famous racers and inventors coming to set records in automobiles, motorcycles, and more...
The original Ormond Garage was built to give racers a place to work on their machines.  The original building burned down in 1976 but a smaller replica along with replica vehicles and the engine shop still exist...
Early inventors and racers didn't know if gas, electric, or steam would be the future of transportation...
Steam cars had the early advantage in beach racing...
The Stanley brothers call it quits in the racing business...
Speeds on the beach exceed 200 m.p.h. and eventually racing shifted to Bonneville and Daytona...
If you are an auto enthusiast or just a fan of history, Ormond Beach and the surrounding areas have many attractions to explore...

the story

Henry Flagler was an industrialist and founded Standard Oil along with a group of partners that included John D. Rockefeller in 1870.  In 1890 he purchased the Ormond Hotel which would become the center of early auto racing and provide a place to stay for racers, engineers, and automobile pioneers including Henry Ford and Ransom Olds...
James Hathaway who was a wealthy manufacturer from Massachusetts had been vacationing in the area for years.  He had observed bicycle races there from 1900 to 1902 and thought it may be a good place for manufacturers to test their vehicles and race them.  Hathaway himself owned a Stanley Steamer automobile and noticed the bicycle wheels didn't sink into the sand.  He proceeded to convince the Ormond Hotel managers and the original hotel builders, John Anderson and Joseph Price, of his idea.  In the summer of 1904, Henry Flagler constructed the Ormond Garage and what was known as the first "gasoline alley".  The facility was able to house 100 automobiles...
In March of 1903 two of the early automobile pioneer creations raced down the beach.  Ransom E. Olds, founder of the Olds Motor Works, entered his Olds Pirate with driver H.T. Thomas.  Alexander Winton, creator of the Winton automobile, entered his Winton Bullet and was himself the driver.  Both vehicles reached 48 m.p.h. with Winton winning the race by two-tenths of a second....
Photo on the right courtesy of the Henry Ford Museum
As Ormond Beach became the place to test and race vehicles, several manufacturers brought standard and experimental models here and invited the biggest names in racing to run them down the beach...
A program from the 1904 races...
Photos courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
1904 Peerless Green Dragon
Photo Courtesy of the Henry Ford Museum
1904 Packard Gray Wolf
In 1905 Frank Croker became the first racing fatality crashing at around 90 m.p.h..  His mechanic Alexander Raoul was also killed.
1905 Baker Torpedo Kid
In 1906 the list of vehicles participating in the races included entries from Henry Ford and REO which Ransom Olds formed in 1905...
Before coming to Ormond Beach, the Darracq Racer broke the record for the one kilometer flying start...
Picture
In 1897 F.E. and F.O. Stanley, twin brothers, built their first steam car.  In 1905 F.E. Stanley designed, built and tested the Stanley Rocket which was the most aerodynamic racer of that time.  On January 26th, 1906 dare-devil Fred Marriott, who had worked in the Stanley factory for seven years, set a land speed record in the Rocket of 127.659 m.p.h. which stood for four years.  Records in early 1900's were sometimes broken within the same hour making the feat even more incredible and solidifying it as the most famous speed record in Ormond Beach...
The official car, timing stand, and grand stand...
Other photos from Ormond Beach...
Photos courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
In 1910 the Stanley Rocket record would finally be broken by Barney Oldfield driving the Lightning Benz to a speed of 131.276 m.p.h.
Photo courtesy of the Henry Ford Museum
Not only were vehicles tested, but manufacturers of bicycles, motorcycles, and even bi-planes brought both their latest and experimental models to the beach...
The photo below depicts aviator Carl S. Bates in the biplane, Bob Burman in the Buick, and driver Louis Strang with his hand in the air.  Burman worked as a "Head Tester" for the Jackson Automobile Company in Michigan and later for Buick.  Billy Durant, one of the founders of General Motors, had Burman form a Buick Racing Team.  He recruited Strang as well as Arthur and Louis Chevrolet and together they went on to win 500 trophies in four years.  The photo was taken in 1909...
Photo courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library
This photo shows Burman and Strang along with Barney Oldfield and Louis Chevrolet...
Photo courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library
On January 24th, 1907, Glenn Hammond Curtiss set the land speed record of 136.4 m.p.h. on his V-8 powered motorcycle.  He was known as the "Fastest Man on Earth" until 1911.  Curtiss entered the field of aviation shortly after setting the record.  He is known as the "Father of Naval Aviation" and the "Founder of the American Aircraft Industry"...
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
This photo shows the Indian Motorcycle Factory Race Team along with different types of prototype motorcycles.  The men pictured are head engineer Oscar Hedstrom, A.G. Chapple, Walter Goerke, and Robert Stubbs...
Photo courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library
This photo shows riders Joseph Folger and E.F. Root before a bicycle race in 1909...
Photo courtesy of the National Automotive History Collection, Detroit Public Library
The first glider was tested in 1906...
Photos courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
Some of the other famous racers of Ormond Beach....
Ralph De Palma
Ed and Whitney Curry are shown here.  Ed is standing in the back with the flat top hat and Whitney is in the dark coat standing behind the the car on the right...
Racing was becoming very popular and tracks were popping up virtually everywhere, including Indianapolis, which starting hosting races in 1909.  The first Indy 500 was run just two years later with Ray Harroun taking the first checkered flag.  Time trials continued on Daytona Beach with Sir Malcolm Campbell averaging a speed of 272.82 m.p.h. in the Bluebird on March 7th, 1935.  He had actually reached 300 m.p.h. on his trip down the beach but on the way back his speed was not as fast due to the bad conditions.  Soon after speed time trials moved to the salt flats of Bonneville, Utah where they still go on today.
Photos courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
The city officials of Daytona were concerned that racing was leaving the area for good.  The first race at Daytona was organized in March of 1936 and an unknown driver at the time, Bill France Sr., took fifth place.  France took control of racing promotion in 1938 and races continued on the beach until 1942 because of the war.  In 1946 racing resumed and in 1948 NASCAR was born.  Racing on Daytona beach continued until 1958 with Daytona International Speedway opening in February of 1959.
Photos courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
Bill France Sr. at the wheel
In 1976 the original Ormond Garage burned down destroying a national landmark and several vehicles inside.  In 2003 a replica was built and stands today for visitors to enjoy...

references

  • Dan Smith-Ormond Beach Racing Historian
  • Ormondbeach.org
  • Historic-structures.com
  • Orlando Sentinel-1996
  • Library of Congress
  • The Horseless Age-Volume 12
  • The Henry Ford Museum
  • The Motor Way-Volume 13/14
  • Mercedes-Benz Public Archive
  • Motor-1908
  • Geneseehistory.org
  • National Automotive History Collection-Detroit Public Library
  • Florida State Library and  State Archives of Florida
  • The Automobile-Volume 11
  • NASCAR: The Complete History-Fielden/Hallman
  • The Century-Volume 81
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