Updated:
04-23-2008
My
fascination with the Detroit two cycle engines started when my Dad
traded a old International Harvester LB engine for a Detroit engine
around the 1990 time period. At the time I don't believe Dad new that he
had traded for one of the very first low pressure fuel injected engines
invented in the early 1900's. After spending some time studying the
engine and figuring out how the fuel system operated the engine was then
completely restored. I remember the first time I seen the little engine run I knew I wanted one. I had never seen a two cycle engine that would
start so easy run so good and was not loud and noisy. It would idle down
and run as slow as a four cycle engine and you could even reverse the direction the engine
is running with out stopping the engine. Changing the direction is done
by slowing the engine to a very slow idle then advancing or retarding
the ignition depending on which direction the engine is running and at the same
time turning the ignition off just for a second or two then turning it
back on. This made the engine kick back in the opposite direction in
which it would keep running.
Some time between 1997 and 1998 I came across a 3hp Detroit that was for sale at our local
antique engine swap meet. It was missing a few parts but I did not hesitate in
purchasing the engine. This is when I first started collecting
literature on DEW. Over the next few years I became
more fascinated with the Detroit Engines and the companies history. Little did I know that I would
end up researching and learning about half a dozen other companies in order to put some of the pieces of this puzzle together. Also having to research information on marine engines which at the time
I had no interest in at all. There were so many un-answered questions
about these engines and the companies that manufactured them. I guess
that is what has kept my interest over the years. I now own four Detroit Engines,
A 3hp
single cylinder stationary, 2hp single cylinder marine, 18hp two
cylinder stationary and a 2.5hp hopper cooled stationary engine. As the
years have passed by I have become even more obsessed with learning more
about Detroit Engine Works and its related companies. On this website you will find original literature
and photos along with information that I have figured out from reading
literature and studying photos. I do not claim to know everything there is to know about
these engines or the companies that manufactured them. However most of the information
has been gathered from original literature and should be fairly
accurate. As time goes by I'm sure that more information will
surface on Detroit Engine Works and it's related companies.
A lot of people are not aware of these
old gas engines and the roll that they played in our great nation here
in USA and all over the world. On this website you will read about and
see photos of some of the very early gas engines that were developed
before the first gas powered automobile was invented. Marine
engines were being used all over the world in every size boat you could
imagine. The stationary engines were
used to power farm machinery such as corn grinders, water pumps, saw
mills, cream separators, washing machines, light plants, concrete
mixers, hoist, tractors, Etc.. I have added the paragraph
below to this history page because I feel that most people may not be
aware that it was the early marine & stationary engine companies and
their employees that manufactured them who opened the doors for the
Detroit automobile industry. Below is a quote
from a book named Motormen & Yachting by author Michael M. Dixon.
"The
marine gas engine business may not be recognized as a great industry
when compared to the automobile. However, as late as 1910, Gas Engine
magazine observed that while much attention was being given to
impressive numbers of automobiles being produced, the largely invisible
gasoline marine engine still out numbered automobile engines in use by a
factor of two to one. It was the impressive number of marine gas engines
that prepared a generation of mechanics to establish Detroit's
automobile industry."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Detroit
Engine Works main offices and factories were located
on Jefferson Ave in Wayne County Detroit, Michigan on the Detroit river.
Next door to Maxwell Chalmers plant and Olds
Motor Works where the first automobile was manufactured. This was a excellent
location for the factories because ore and coal for the foundry could be
shipped in by way of boat on the Detroit river. The railroad was also
next to the factories which made it great for shipping engines, etc out
to the States. The DEW factory on Jefferson
Avenue was owned and operated by the Wadsworth Manufacturing Co. who manufactured
auto bodies, auto tops, auto parts and was located in the same
facilities. WMC operated multiple businesses on the side at this
location. DEW, DBC, CEC, MSBC. were some of the firms that operated out of the Wadsworth
factory. DEW owned and
operated their own casting foundry and is believed to be one of the
largest manufactures of engines and boats in the late 1800's and early
1900's. It appears
that DEW may of had distributorships in
London England. One located at 94 Hatton Garden and another office & warehouse
about 15 miles away at Holborn. The Holborn office & warehouse was advertised as the Columbia Engine Company with their main
offices located at 1273-1285 Jefferson Ave. East Detroit, Michigan. Very little is known about
the London dealerships.
Detroit
Motor
Car
Supply
Company who manufactured the two cycle
Sandow engines was located at a
different address then DEW and WMC but was under the same management
& ownership.
Over the
twenty four years that DEW was in business they used at
least dozen or more different addresses and most were in the
vicinity of their main office and factory.
Detroit
Engine Works was Organized in 1896
and pioneered the use of two-cycle engines for marine
and stationary power use. Sources indicate that
DEW
started out as a
marine engine manufacturing firm that eventually produced stationary gasoline-kerosene engines, traction engines and reverse
gears and many other products. One style of engine that
DEW produced
was
very unique due to being one of the first low pressure fuel injected
engines invented back in the early 1900's. Manufactured sometime around 1907. This
fuel injected engine was DEW's most popular engines
produced due to the fact that it was designed to run on a multiple types
of fuels. Gasoline, Kerosene (Coal Oil), Alcohol, Naptha, Distillate and
no change in equipment was necessary to change from one fuel to another
unless you wanted to run natural or
artificial gas then a regulator adapter could be purchased. DEW
advertisements claimed that their engines could start and run on most
all fuels and in any climate including 40 degrees below zero temperatures.
DEW two cycle single cylinder two flywheel
vertical
stationary engines (tank cooled) were built in size's 2, 2.5, 3,
3.5, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 horse power. The two cylinder two cycle two
flywheel vertical stationary engines (tank cooled) were built in sizes 12, 18 and
20 horse power. All of the two cycle two flywheel stationary engines were
sold with the low pressure fuel injection systems. Carburetors and mixers
were not advertised for the stationary engines. In the first few years of production original
DEW catalogs advertise their governed stationary engines only up to
8 horse power in size. However they advertise non-governing engines in
sizes 2,3,3.5-4,5-6,7-8,10,12-14,18-20 horsepower. Most of the Non-governing
engines were single flywheel marine engines that came mounted on a
wooden base with a pulley between two pillow blocks.
DEW also sold Single cylinder four cycle
hopper cooled horizontal stationary engines in sizes 1.5, 2, 3, 4.5, 6, 8
horse power. These four cycle stationary engines appear to have been manufactured
by the Nelson Brothers corporation and tagged with DEW
name tags. Some of these engines had (Detroit Engine Works,
Detroit, Michigan) cast in large raised letters on top of the water
hopper.
Research shows that DEW
marine engines were offered in many different configurations over the
years. An assortment of carburetors and mixers were manufactured by different
companies, DEW, Schebler, Lunkenheimer, Essex, Krice, Planhard,
Williams are just a
few that are known to have been used. Ben J. Middleditch
manufactured the first fuel injection systems that were used on some of these
marine engines. Then DEW manufactured three different styles
of fuel feeder-injectors in the proceeding years after. Two or three
different styles of timing controllers were offered. A few different
versions of condenser exhaust manifolds were produced. Flywheels
with different configurations and different number and sizes of holes were produced.
The DEW marine engines were offered in a range of different
sizes depending on what year the engine was made. The 1910 single
cylinder 2 cycle models were manufactured in standard sizes of 2, 2.5, 3, 4,
5-6, 7-8 hp and a single cylinder heavy duty 8hp engine. The 1910 two cylinder
two cycle models were offered in standard sizes 9-10, 12, 15hp and heavy
duty 20hp or you could get their 20hp special which was made for speed
boats. The 1910 Four
cylinder four cycle marine engines were built in sizes 20-25, 40-50
horse power and could be purchased with a reversible gear box and a Briggs and Stratton
distributing system. See DEW marine literature section for the
difference in standard, heavy duty and special engines. All the marine engines came with a five year
guarantee and the option of fresh water or salt water fittings. The
price sheet below is from around 1913 time period as you can see DEW
now offered more marine engine sizes in single cylinder and two
cylinder. Notice the small sizes they offered the two cylinder engines
4.5, 6, 8hp.
(click
to enlarge)
Sources indicate that
DEW
started out as a
marine engine manufacturing firm that eventually produced stationary gasoline-kerosene engines, traction engines and reverse gears.
A large selection of generators and pumps were also available from
DEW, sold by themselves or as a package unit with the engine. DEW entered the tractor business,
building the Wadsworth tractor for several years. They
also sold Power Machinery Accessories and supplies. Their catalog
listed just about every
kind of accessory you would ever want for a stationary engine, over 50 pages
of items. It is not known how many of these items DEW
actually manufactured.
Research shows that DEW, DMCS, CEC, DBC, MSBC,
TMC were conglomerates
that were owned and / or operated by the
Wadsworth
Manufacturing
Co. and
later ran by
Standard
Motor
Parts
Co. with exception of the Thrall Motor
Co.. At this time I do not have any proof that Caille Engine Co.,
Middleditch Engine Co., Bessemer Engine Co., American Engine Co., Arthur
Colton Co., Petoskey Iron Works or any other engine company was part of this particular
Detroit conglomerate. However it is very possible that designs, parts,
castings, etc.. were being sold or traded between the companies.
Some of the multiple addresses found on original literature.
Detroit
Engine
Works
1242 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan.
1263 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1907).
171 Bellevue Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1909).
1250-1280 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1911).
1256-1500 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (Jan 02,1913).
1036 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1913).
187 Bellevue Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1913).
361 Bellevue Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1913).
66 Bellevue Ave Detroit, Michigan. (April 15, 1915).
1415 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (April 15, 1915).
1250 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1915 Phone book).
115 Bellevue Ave Detroit, Michigan. (Dec 12, 1916).
420 Bellevue Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1916).
445 Bellevue Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1916).
Corner of Jefferson & Bellevue Ave Detroit, Michigan.
Kercheval & Conners Creek Detroit, Michigan. (1918 Phone book).
94 Hatton Garden, London, E.C. England. Head Office and Works Detroit,
Michigan, USA.
Wadsworth
Manufacturing
Co.
280-284 Jefferson
Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1903).
1256 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1903).
1252-1270 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1905).
1526 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1915).
1256 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (Auto bodies) (1915 Phone
book).
Jefferson & Conners Creek Detroit, Michigan. (Factory) (1915
Phone book).
Kercheval & Conners Creek Detroit, Michigan. (1918
Phone book).
Detroit
Motor
Car
Supply
Co.
(Sandow).
Corner of Bellevue & Iron Street Detroit, Michigan.
88 Canton Ave, Detroit, Michigan. (1913).
1250 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1915 Phone book).
Kercheval & Conners Creek Detroit, Michigan. (1918 Phone
book).
Columbia
Engine
Co.
Jefferson & Bellevue Avenues Detroit, Michigan.
Jefferson Ave. East at Bellevue, Detroit, Michigan. (Feb 24,
1912).
1273-1285 Jefferson Ave. East Detroit, Michigan. (Feb 24, 1912).
Holborn, London, E. C. England. (Feb 24, 1912).
1275 Jefferson Ave
Detroit,
Michigan. (1915 Phone Book).
1256 Jefferson Ave
Detroit,
Michigan. (1918 Phone Book).
Michigan
Steel Boat
Co.
280-284 Jefferson
Ave, Detroit,
Michigan. (1903).
1252-1270 Jefferson Ave,
Detroit,
Michigan. (1905).
1300 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1906).
1252 Jefferson Ave Detroit,
Michigan. (1909).
1273 Jefferson Ave Detroit,
Michigan. (1911).
1347 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1913).
1250 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan.
(1915 Phone book).
Kercheval & Conners Creek Detroit, Michigan. (1918 Phone
book).
Dubois & Guoin Detroit, Michigan. (1918 Phone book).
Corner of Kercheval Ave & Conner
Creek Detroit, Michigan. (1919).
Detroit
Boat
Co.
1252 Jefferson Ave Detroit,
Michigan. (1909).
1122 Jefferson Ave Detroit,
Michigan. (1912).
1154 Jefferson Ave Detroit,
Michigan. (1912).
1250 Jefferson Ave Detroit, Michigan. (1915 Phone Book).
Kercheval & Conners Creek Detroit, Michigan. (1918
Phone book).
Standard
Motor
Parts
Co.
584-590 Franklin
Street Detroit, Michigan.
584-590 Franklin
Street Detroit, Michigan.
(1915 Phone book).
584-590 Franklin
Street Detroit, Michigan.
(1918 Phone book).
United
States
Tire
Co.
245 Jefferson
Ave, Detroit,
Michigan. (1915 Phone book).
245 Jefferson
Ave, Detroit,
Michigan. (1918 Phone book).
Caille
Perfection
Motor
Co.
1334 Second Ave Detroit,
Michigan.
1338 Second Ave Detroit,
Michigan.
1213 Caille Street Detroit, Michigan.
102 Caille Street Detroit Michigan.
Time Line
Wadsworth Manufacturing Co. =1890's - 1920.
Companies owned & operated by
the Wadsworth Manufacturing Co.
Detroit Engine Works = 1896 -
1920.
Detroit Motor Car Supply Co. = ? - ?
Michigan Steel Boat Co. = 1900 - Dec 8, 1920.
Detroit Boat Co. = ? - ?
Columbia Engine Co. = ? - ?
Standard Motor Parts Co. = ? - ?
American Motor Body Company. = 1920 - 1923.
Purchased the
Wadsworth Manufacturing Co.
American Motor Body Corporation. = 1923 - 1925.
Re-organized & Incorporated.
Chrysler Corp. = 1925 - ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
The sketch below is of the DEW Factory's on Jefferson Ave Detroit,
Michigan. which
included WMC, DBC, MSBC and CEC As you can see DEW manufacturing facilities were very large. One of the
DEW
advertisements claims their factories covered eight acres of land another
later ad claims fourteen acres. It is not known just how accurate
the pictures below are. Artist sometimes exaggerate
these pictures for advertising.
In the next two pictures below you
will notice the buildings are the same just the names of the companies
have been changed on the signs. I'm not sure what exactly is going
on here maybe a little creative advertisement? or maybe one company
bought the other company? CEC was said to be
located in the same buildings as DEW.
Detroit Motor Car Supply Co. factory.
(Sandow Engines).
Columbia Engine Co. (Columbia Engines).
Abbreviations:
DEW
=
Detroit
Engine
Works.
WMC =
Wadsworth
Manufacturing
Co. DMCS =
Detroit
Motor
Car
Supply
Co.
CEC =
Columbia
Engine
Co.
MSBC =
Michigan Steel
Boat
Co.
DBC =
Detroit
Boat
Co. SMPC =
Standard
Motor
Parts
Co.
CPMC =
Caille
Perfection
Motor
Co.
MEC =
Middleditch Engine
Co.
BGEC =
Bessemer
Gas Engine
Co.
TMC =
Thrall
Motor
Co. T&MC
= Termaat
& Monahan Co.
AEC = American
Engine Co. PIW
= Petoskey
Iron Works. Updated
12-07- 2007
Principals of the DEW in 1903 were Hugo Scherer as president and Frederick E. Wadsworth as secretary and treasurer.
In 1911 Hugo Scherer was president of the firm with Frederick E. Wadsworth as secretary and treasurer. Scherer and Wadsworth also owned and managed the
DMCS, TMC, and CEC.
Both Scherer and Wadsworth were also the principals of the DBC which was located at the same facility and manufactured launches and canoes.
By 1915 the firm had grown to include these managers and officers: Hugo Scherer, President; Frederick E. Wadsworth, Secretary and Treasurer; H. E.
Cronenweth, General Manager; W. C. Rowling, Purchasing Agent; and A. M.
Ratigan, Advertising Manager.
It is said that Ben J.
Middleditch designed the two cycle explosion engine with its fuel
injection system that made Detroit Engine Works and its related
companies so popular back in the early 1900's. As of May 26,
2006 research has been done on patents listed under the Middleditch
name from 1879 through 1925 and only
one patent has been found (0577739) issued to Ben J. Middleditch and Edward J. Frost
and it was for a mechanism that regulates natural gas. At this point it
does not appear that Middleditch designed this two cycle explosion engine and its
fuel injection system. If he did design the fuel injection system
then he did not get a patent under his name. However it is very possible
that Ben J. Middleditch could have been one of the main driving forces behind the
two cycle Detroit engine and its unique fuel injection system.
 December
05, 2006, Through research I have discovered that there is a very good possibility
that Ben. J. Middleditch either owned or had a license for the patent writes to patent # (840,178)
for
the universal fuel feeder that Middleditch Engine Co. and Bessemer
Engine Co. used on their two cycle engines. The patent was originally
submitted May 25, 1905 by Daniel M. Tuttle and patented on January 1st 1907.
Photos of a early model
Bessemer two cycle engine have surfaced with embossed patent dates. See
1915 infringement lawsuit below for the whole story.
Ben J. Middleditch was born
in 1859 in Amherstburg, Ontario Canada. He moved to Michigan and started his own general machine shop business at Detroit in 1880.
Middleditch did the
machining and manufacturing of the parts on the first fuel injection system
for DEW. There was a Middleditch who was the proprietor of a company called Petoskey
Iron Works
of Detroit, Michigan. At this point I'm not sure if the proprietor was
Ben Middleditch or one of his relatives. This company sold engines that looked very close to the style engines
that Detroit Engine Works produced. Very little is known about the
company.
By 1910 Middleditch started manufacturing and selling another stationary two cycle
engine very similar
in design to the DEW engine. The engines brass tag was
embossed with the Middleditch
Engine Company name.
In 1913 Bessemer
Gas Engine
Co. purchased the
MEC. BGEC continued producing the
two cycle engines into
the 1920's. Benjamin J. Middleditch died May 22, 1916.
Patent # 926,892 shows that John Peterson & Frederick O. Peterson designed the
two cycle explosion engine with its fuel
injection system. Although their patent was applied for on February 24, 1908 and
patent issued on July 06, 1909 we know that their design and engine was
already being produced by DEW at least a couple of
years before the patents were issued. There is a original DEW
catalog with a 1907 date showing the two cycle explosion engine with its
fuel injection system. It is not known if John Peterson and Frederick O.
Peterson were employed by DEW or MEC Ben J. Middleditch manufactured this fuel
injection system for DEW. DEW
also manufactured two
cycle marine engines with a regular float type carburetors and mixer
type carburetors before and
after the fuel injection system was manufactured.
DEW engineers eventually designed and
manufactured their own fuel injection
system. The one piece fuel feeder-Injector patent was applied for on
January 7, 1911 was designed by Frederick Barthel. Patented May 14, 1912 (patent #1,026,425).
Frederick Barthel, born: 1866, Died: 1922, Grave: Forest Lawn
Cemetery Detroit, Wayne county, Michigan. Wife: Ida
Bowman.
There were 3 styles of this one piece fuel feeder/Injector produced.
See engine specs and information menu for photos of the three different
styles.
1915 Law
Suit
The information in the paragraphs
below were found in a 1915 original Bessemer two cycle engine catalog.
I thought
that this information might be of interest to other engine collectors.
In a description of the Bessemer Universal Fuel Feeder this is what was
found.
"“We own the original basic patents on this fuel feeder, and if any one else, either in a catalog, in a letter or personally
attempts to make you believe otherwise, you can put them down immediately as impostors who, if they will deceive you on such
an important matter as this would not hesitate to deceive in any way necessary to gain their purpose."”
"“At the present time there are two other engine manufacturers using devices which are clearly infringements of our Universal
Fuel Feeder."”
"“We are now prosecuting the larger of these two concerns for infringement and as soon as this case is over we will take up
the other, and in every case where we find it necessary we will defend our rights and property and that of our customers,
to the full extent of the law."”
"We have no intention
whatever of taking recourse against the innocent purchasers of these
infringements and consequently we do not issue the usual
"warning" to that effect, but when considering the purchase of
an engine it might be well to take the fact into consideration that, if
possible, We intend to stop any and all infringements of our rights, and
that if you buy an engine that is clearly such and we shortly thereafter
stop the manufacture of it by law, the guilty firm would undoubtedly go
out of business altogether or else take up the manufacture of a new type
engine, in which case you would be forever unable to secure repairs for
your engine in case of accident."
"This device is one of the
many things which puts the Bessemer Kerosene Engine in the lead, makes
it a more expensive engine to build and consequently renders it
impossible for us to compete with the cheap four cycle gasoline engines
which are being turned out by the million and are made only to
sell."
I first read about this
infringement of the Bessemer Universal fuel feeder a few years back when
I was on a antique engine forum on the internet. A gentlemen named Arnie
Fero from Pittsburg PA had posted the information and said it was a quote
out of Bessemer two cycle engine catalog he had. I really wanted
to get a copy of this Bessemer catalog and see if there was any more
information on this subject and try to figure out who it was that was
infringing on their patents. I knew that it probably involved Detroit
Engine Works. The problem was Arnie's information had been posted
in March of 2001 and I was now reading it in 2004. Another year
went by and one night I was bidding on a Bessemer engine catalog on Ebay
through the internet. I won the bid and just a few minutes or so after
the auction I received a email from a fellow engine collector who was
also bidding on the catalog but had lost the bid and wanted to know if
it would be possible if he could purchase a copy of the catalog. I
noticed his name was Arnie Fero, so ask if he was the gentlemen that
posted the Bessemer fuel feeder infringement information on the antique
engine forum a few years back. He indeed was the same gentlemen. So we worked up a trade
and sent each other copies of our catalogs. I never did find any more
information about this fuel feeder infringement until one day in
2006 I was going through some old digital photos I had collected
over the years and I found a few photos of a very early Bessemer two
cycle engine, one photo was a close up of some embossing on the engine
inspection plate (The Bessemer, Grove City, PA). Another photo of the
crank case showed embossed (Patended, January 1st 1907). After seeing the photos I thought
this might be the answer I have been looking for. I went to the US
patent website and searched through patents until I narrowed down where
the January 1st 1907 patents started and ended. This took a little time
and once I got this info there were still thousands of patents to be
searched. So I got a friend of mine to help me
search. After about a week or so we finished looking through all the
patents for January 1st 1907 and found only one engine patent, #
(840,178) by Daniel M. Tuttle, for January 1st 1907 and it did not look
exactly like a Bessemer or Middleditch two cycle engine to me. I lost interest
after this because I could not figure out what was going on. Why
couldn't I find this patent? About six months later I was looking
through some of my old literature and paper work and I come across a
copy of this same patent that I printed out back when we originally
found it. I looked at the patent again and this time I read all the
pages and looked over the drawing closer. This was the same basic fuel
injection design being used it was just drawn a little different and then I knew that this was indeed the patent that Bessemer sold
their engines under and the original patent for the low pressure fuel
feeder for which the writes were originally owned by Daniel M. Tuttle then
it must have been acquired by Ben. J. Middleditch used at several
different companies and eventually sold to Bessemer Engine
Co. I have no hard evidence of this theory but the fact remains
that the design of this low pressure fuel injected engine seem to follow
Ben J. Middleditch from factory to factory no matter what company he
worked for.
Daniel
M.Tuttle, Middleditch, Bessemer fuel feeder patent # (840,178) January 01,
1907.
John
Peterson & Frederick O. Peterson, DEW fuel feeder
patent # (926,892) July 06, 1909.
Frederick
Barthel, DEW second fuel feeder patent #
(1,026,425) May 14, 1912.
The two later patents above pertain
to the same basic original patent with improvements being made with each
design. My guess is this is where the infringement problems came to
play. DEW and DMCS were
probably the two companies BGEC were talking about infringing on
their patents
Source:
American Gas Engines since 1872 (C.H.Wendal)
1912,1913,1915 original Detroit Engine Works letterheads.
Patents:
University of Central Florida Library.
Original company literature 1907 through 1917.
1915 original Bessemer engine catalog.
(Donated
by Arnie Fero).
US Patent
Office website.
University Of Central Florida computer patent search program and microfiche.
Research done by: (John
C. Davis), Davis Antiques & Scale
Models.
DEW, DMCS, DBC, CEC & MSBC All were ran as
a side issue by the WMC, Which was primarily
in another line of business. (manufacturers of auto bodies, auto tops and auto
parts). As consequence the service on the repair
parts became badly demoralized, and to protect the engine owners radical
changes had to be made. Sometime during 1917 it was decided by the
Wadsworth people to transfer all these companies to the Standard Motor
Parts Company. It is not known how long these companies stayed in
business after this change but it is believed that most of the factory's
closed
down sometime around 1919-1920. This is the same time period that Wadsworth
Manufacturing Co. was succeeded by the
American Motor Body Company. Also in this time period is when the
Wadsworth factory caught on fire.
The original
DEW sales flyer advertisement below states the following: "Our
plant has been sold to the United States Tire Co. and our new plant is
not yet ready so that we can carry in stock only a limited amount of
engines and machinery for a few months and rather than pay this storage
we are going to sell the majority of our stock." There is no
date on this flyer so I'm not sure when this took place but their
address at this time was 1256 Jefferson Ave. The selling of the plant to
the U.S. Tire Co. probably occurred after the large fire of August 02,
1919. As you can see DEW sold a variety of engines and other farm
equipment products.
(click
to enlarge)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Below is a original mail out flyer showing the
transfer of the five companies mentioned to the Standard Motor Parts
Company sometime around 1917.
Address & info listed for Standard Motor Parts Co. in the 1918 City
directory, E. J. Dayton, Pres. and Treas.; W. S. Grant, Sec. Mfrs. of Auto Parts. 584-590 Franklin.
(click to
enlarge)
(click
to enlarge)
Original Standard Motor Parts Company, Detroit, Michigan mail out flyer
from 1917 period. (Donated by David
Clark from Missouri Ozarks ).
Info own company management and address for Standard Motor Parts
Co. donated by:
Scott M. Peters, Collections Historian
Michigan Historical Museum.
1918 Detroit City Directory, published by R. L. Polk & Company page
1647.
www.1847usa.com
(US Stamps) used to date Standard Motor Parts Co. flyer.
1919 DETROIT
WADSWORTH FIRE
News Paper Clipping of August 02,1919.
(click to
enlarge)
Minutes after the first alarm was
given the plant of the Wadsworth manufacturing Co. was in flames.
The photograph, taken from Jefferson Avenue, shows the extent of the
destruction. The roof caved in quickly, flames reflecting from a
background of dense smoke illuminating the sky. Three explosions helped demolish the
structure and hurled burning timbers to nearby factories which took
fire, among them the Maxwell Chalmers plant. A high wind aided in
spreading the flames. A falling wall struck two fire
engines, wrecking them.
Above are the exact words printed in a
August 02, 1919 Detroit news paper with a very poor quality photo of the
Wadsworth factory engulfed in flames and smoke. Did the whole factory
burn down? including DEW and DBC,
etc..? At this point it is not known. This fire may have
contributed to these engine companies going out of business. Although
according
to research Wadsworth was still building parts for some of the car companies
in 1919 and 1920.
The two photos below were donated by T.K. Sand, who created a website called (Before
My Time) about the ancestry and extended family of her four
grandparents. Among the photos kept by T.K's grandparents were the two
below. Her grandparents lived in the 1000 block of Jefferson Ave. in
1919. The photos are
believed to be of the Wadsworth factory after the August 02, 1919 fire.
If anyone has information about these photos or the fire please contact
me. mazak@rocketmail.com
(click
to enlarge)
(click
to enlarge)
Below T.K. Sands combined the unidentified photo with
the Detroit News paper clipping
of the actual Wadsworth factory fire so a comparison could be made
between the two buildings.
(click
to enlarge)
Source:
Detroit
News paper, Detroit public Library.
Research done by: John
Davis, Davis Antiques & Scale
Models.
T.K. Sand : (Before
My Time) two photos from T.K. Sand grandparents.
Abbreviations:
DEW
=
Detroit
Engine
Works.
WMC =
Wadsworth
Manufacturing
Co. DMCS =
Detroit
Motor
Car
Supply
Co.
CEC =
Columbia
Engine
Co.
MSBC =
Michigan Steel
Boat
Co.
DBC =
Detroit
Boat
Co. SMPC =
Standard
Motor
Parts
Co.
CPMC =
Caille
Perfection
Motor
Co.
MEC =
Middleditch Engine
Co.
BGEC =
Bessemer
Gas Engine
Co.
TMC =
Thrall
Motor
Co. T&MC
= Termaat
& Monahan Co.
AEC = American
Engine Co. PIW
= Petoskey
Iron Works. Updated
August 05, 2007
The following companies two cycle engines are known to have certain
features or designs that appear to be the same or real close on their
stationary and/or marine engines. DEW, DMCS, CEC, DBC, MSBC, MEC,
BGEC, CPMC, AEC, T&MC, ACC. Some of these engines were manufactured by
DEW and
sold to the other companies and re-tagged. The design writes were
either sold, copied or
cross-licensing
by companies. Look at the patents shown below. They show that T&MC
designed and patented the lever timer controller and the condenser
exhaust which were used by some of the other engine companies including
DEW. It seems as though some of the companies would take someone else's
idea or patent and improve upon it then apply for a new patent and in
most cases the patent would be approved. So were the writes to these designs
or patents sold, copied or stolen?
We may never know.
(click
to enlarge)
(click
to enlarge)
Detroit Engine Works, Detroit Motor Car Supply Co.,
Columbia Engine Co.,
Michigan Steel Boat Co., Detroit Boat Co., Caille Perfection Motor
Co., Middleditch Engine Co. and Bessemer
two cycle engines are all pretty similar.
All but Bessemer which bought out Middleditch were located in Detroit,
Michigan.
Below are a few photos of the engine tags that were used on Detroit
Engine Works engines and some of the related engines.
     
 
An original Columbia marine engine catalog illustrating their line of
engines actually shows two or three pictures of their engines with
Detroit Engine Works name tags attached to the cylinder. Original
literature clearly illustrates that Detroit Engine Works manufactured
two cycle engines for Columbia Engine Company, Detroit Motor Car Supply
Company, Michigan Steel Boat Company and Detroit Boat Company.
Michigan Steel Boat Company. (Detroit, Michigan).
Michigan Steel Boat Company was a second company with the same name, along with another in Kalamazoo. Michigan Steel Boat Company was organized in 1900 and incorporated on December 27, 1901, in Detroit, Wayne County. Principals of the firm in 1903 were Hugo Scherer as president and Frederick E. Wadsworth as secretary and treasurer.
Wadsworth was associated with the Detroit Boat
Company. The company was located initially at two different locations in
Detroit, at 280-284 Jefferson Ave. and 1256 Jefferson Ave. in 1903, and
later at 1252-1270 Jefferson Ave. in 1905. It appears that it shared the
plant and management with Detroit Boat Company and several marine engine
manufacturers such as Detroit Engine Works, Thrall Motor Company,
Columbia Engine Company and others. A portion of the plant was acquired
from the Olds Motor Works, the first plant built specifically for
automobile manufacturing.
Detroit,
Mich.--The Michigan
Steel Boat Company has bought the old Detroit United Railway car barns
property on Jefferson avenue from the Olds Motor Works, and will employ
about seven hundred men in building steel and wooden boats and canoes.
Resources: Motor
Boat, Vol. 2, No. 21, November 10, 1905. p. 38.
(Scott Peters).
A 1905 description of the property called it
“the largest steel boat building establishment in the state.” The
plant covered a space of 1,200 X 100 feet with seven separate buildings.
The main factory and office building was a two-story high cement block
structure, complete with show rooms. All buildings had automatic fire
extinguishers and a private telephone system. Motive power for the plant
was electricity, furnished by the company’s own private generating
plant. The company in its new location appears to have gotten off to a
good start as it reported that 1,200 boats were built in 1905.
Michigan Steel Boat Company may have been the manufacturer of the “White Flyer” rowboats for Sears, Roebuck & Company in 1908. The boat was shipped direct from “our factory at Detroit, Mich.” and retailed at $27.50, including one pair of oars and oarlocks. A rudder cost an extra $1.75. The “White Flyer” was a 14-foot square stern steel clinker rowboat of “Apollo” steel construction, with horizontal plates. Sears advertised that the “bow, stern and seats of this boat are made of cypress, the gunwales are of oak, all finely finished in natural oak.” The boat came equipped with patented steel airtight chambers at either end for additional buoyancy. The hull was painted with white
pegamoid, and imported waterproof paint, the same as that used by the United States Navy. The catalogue No. 6K8700 “White Flyer” was 14 feet in length; 43-1/2" beam
amidship, and 14" in depth amidship, with the height of the bow being 22" and the height of the stern being 24". The boat weighed about 150 pounds and when crated weighed about 200 pounds.
Michigan Steel Boat Co.
tagged the engines in their boats as shown below. The patent number
(681,363) on
the tag is to the design
of the boat
not the engine. No mention of horse power or any other engine
information is given although serial numbers were stamped on their
tags. You cannot see the serial number in this photo but it is lightly stamped
in the lower left corner. Here are some more patents from
inventors-engineers that worked for Michigan Steel Boat Co.
711469, 711471, 711472 ,730874, 963098. Michigan Steel Boat Co.
was a company that designed and built boats and they used Detroit Engine
Works engines for their power source. The advertisement
above
talks about the fact that their boats are equipped with the wonderful
Detroit engine, guaranteed for five years, any horse power 2 to 50.
Fewest moving parts of any engine made. Anyone can run it.
By 1915 the firm had grown to include these managers and officers: Hugo Scherer, President; Frederick E. Wadsworth, Secretary and Treasurer; H. E.
Cronenweth, General Manager; W. C. Rowling, Purchasing Agent; and A. M.
Ratigan, Advertising Manager. The company manufactured “Boats, Motor
Boats, Row Boats, Canoes” The address and phone were listed as 1526 Jefferson Ave.,
Tels. East 406-407-408.
By 1919, Michigan Steel Boat Company had moved its office and factory to the corner of Kercheval Avenue and Conners Creek, and was
still associated with The Wadsworth Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of auto bodies, auto tops and auto parts. Frederick E. Wadsworth was president of the firm, Mary M. Wadsworth, vice-president and H. E.
Cronenweth, treasurer.
The Michigan Artisan reported in their June 10th 1906 news paper that
the Michigan Steel Boat Company of Detroit was about to engage in making
knock down furniture.
Michigan Steel Boat Company of Detroit, Michigan, filed its notice of
dissolution on December 8, 1920.
Sources:
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State
Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1903-1904 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk
& Co., 1903.) pp. 674, 1810.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory,
1905-1906 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1905.) pp. 842, 1973.
State of Michigan. Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics.
Twenty-third Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor and Industrial
Statistics (Lansing, MI: Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics,
1906.) pp. 373, 375.
Penton Publishing Co. The American Boating Directory--1906 (Cleveland,
OH: Penton Publishing Co., 1906.) pp. 10, 351.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory,
1907-1908 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1907.) pp. 783, 2330.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory,
1909-1910 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1909.) pp. 669, 2318.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Detroit City Directory, 1909 (Detroit, MI: R. L.
Polk & Co., 1909.) pp. 1548, 2825.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory,
1911-1912 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1911.) pp. 662, 2167.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory,
1913-1914 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1913.) pp. 575, 1839.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory,
1915 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1915.) pp. 575, 1852.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory,
1919-1920 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1919.) pp. 578, 685, 1941.
Rudder Publishing Co., The. The Rudder Marine Directory (New York: The
Rudder Publishing Co., 1920.) p. 216.
Earley, Helen Jones and James R. Walkinshaw. Setting the Pace:
Oldsmobile=s First Hundred Years (Lansing, MI: Oldsmobile Division of
General Motors, 1996.) p. 51.
Schroeder, Joseph J., Jr. Sears, Roebuck & Co. 1908 Catalogue No.
117 The Great Price Maker (Northfield, IL: DBI Books, Inc., 1971.) p.
756.
Michigan State Archives, RG 61-11, Abstracts of Reports of Corporations,
Lot 3, Vol. 4 (1903-1909). p. 340.
Michigan State Archives, RG 61-11, Abstracts of Reports of Corporations,
Lot 3, Vol. 5 (1910-1914.) p. 378.
Fisher, Robert D. (ed.) Marvyn Scudder Manual of Extinct or Obsolete
Companies, Vol. III, 1930 (New York: Marvyn Scudder Manual of Extinct or
Obsolete Companies, Inc., 1930.) p. 944.
Research for Michigan Steel Boat
Co. done by:
Scott M. Peters, Collections
Historian Michigan Historical Museum.
John C. Davis, Davis
Antiques & Scale Models.
Detroit Boat Company was a boat building firm located in Detroit,
Michigan (Wayne County) that used mostly Detroit Engine Works
engines as a power source for their boats. Frederick E. Wadsworth was manager of the
firm, which built launches and canoes. Their shop was located at
1250-1500 Jefferson Ave, East. Next door to the
Michigan Steel Boat Company, of which Wadsworth was secretary and
treasurer. By 1909, Hugo Scherer was president of the firm, and
Wadsworth was secretary. By 1915 Wadsworth was listed as
secretary-treasurer. Detroit Boat Company should
not be confused with Detroit Boat Works two different companies. Detroit
Boat Works was a much older company that started out using steam engines
in their boats.
Hugo Scherer was also president of H. Scherer & Co., which sold
carriage goods.
The Detroit Boat Company shared its management and
facilities with
the Michigan Steel Boat Company.
About 1907-1908 the company began selling knock-down boat frames, as
advertised in Scientific American.
By 1911 the company claimed to have sold their products to over
20,000 customers, and advertised itself as the “Largest Producers of
Pleasure Crafts in the World.” Their factory had eight acres of
floor space. They manufactured 64 different styles of boats that ranged in size from 14 to 35 feet in
length and were equipped with Detroit Engine Works engines of two to fifty horsepower.
Sources:
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business
Directory, 1907-1908 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1907.) pp.
666, 2329.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business
Directory, 1909-1910 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1909.) pp.
560, 2318.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Detroit City Directory, 1909 (Detroit,
MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1909.) pp. 856, 1858, 2102, 2825.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business
Directory, 1911-1912 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1911.) pp.
543, 2167.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business
Directory, 1913-1914 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1913.) pp.
469, 1839.
Polk, R. L. & Co. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business
Directory, 1915 (Detroit, MI: R. L. Polk & Co., 1915.) pp.
461, 1852.
Detroit Boat Company. The “Detroit” Boat represents the
highest quality service and best design of any priced boat (Detroit,
MI: Detroit Boat Company, 1911?) Library of Michigan, Rare
Book Collection.
Research for Detroit Boat Co. Done by: Scott M. Peters, Collections Historian
Michigan Historical Museum and John C. Davis,
of Davis
Antiques & Scale Models.
Detroit Boat Co.
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Literature donated By:
Richard Durgee
Delray Beach, Florida and
John C. Davis. St.
Cloud, Florida.
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