The Adams Company is an American manufacturing concern. It was founded in 1883 and is based in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

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. Between 1905 and 1912 it produced the Adams-Farwell, a

brass era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 191 ...

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

History

The Roberts & Langworthy Iron Works, located at 57 South Main Street in Dubuque, were manufacturers of "fine light castings"encyclopediadubuque.com: ''Roberts & Langworthy Iron Works'' like grave crosses and park benches.

Eugene Adams Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

invested in the company in June 1883 when Roberts decided to retire, and Adams took the position of a secretary and manager. A change of the company name to Langworthy and Adams Iron Works followed in 1885. When Langworthy retired in 1892, Eugene's brother

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert ...

bought his share and the company was re-organized as The Adams Company, a foundry and machine shop. The plant burnt down the same year in a disastrous fire, and the company opened new facilities at East Fourth Street. Now, machine castings and household devices like a patented ''floor heating vent with inner rotating portion'' that distributed warm air in upper level rooms, or ''laundry stoves'' were added. In 1895,

Fay Oliver Farwell Fayette Oliver Farwell (December 1858''1900 United States Federal Census'', ''1860 United States Federal Census'' – 24 May 1935), co-creator of the Adams-Farwell automobile manufacturing company, was a prolific American inventor with at least thir ...

(1859–1935) became manager of the company.encyclopediadubuque.com: ''The Adams Company''Kimes: ''Standard Catalogue'' (1985); p. 97, ''Adams-Farwell''

The Adams-Farwell automobile

About 1895, Farwell began experimenting with an

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...

d automobile, for which he conceived a horizontally mounted

rotary engine The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and i ...

with three cylinders. The vertically standing crank shaft was fixed in the chassis. Farwell felt this configuration was lighter than conventional engines as it used neither a

flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device which uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy; a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, ass ...

— since the spinning engine crankcase and cylinders acted as their own flywheel when running — nor

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

, because of its air cooled design. Farwell completed the first

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

in 1898. Basically a

horse-drawn carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

, he mounted his engine between the front wheels. This proved impractical, so his second car, appropriately named number 2, had the engine installed in the rear as all Adams-Farwells would thereafter. This car used bicycle wheels; the next had wooden

artillery wheel The artillery wheel was a nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century style of wagon, gun carriage, and automobile wheel. Rather than having its spokes mortised into a wooden nave (hub), it has them fitted together in a keystone fashion with m ...

s. Little is known about car number 4, which probably was similar to number 3, and which was sold to a Dubuque resident. Number 5 was shown at the

Chicago Auto Show The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center. It is the largest auto show in North America. History Samuel Miles, formerly a promoter of bicycle shows, produced the first "official" Chic ...

in February 1905. Now, first orders were taken. With only minor modifications, the car went into - very limited - production as the Model 6 20/25 hp.encyclopediadubuque.com: ''Adams-Farwell Automobiles'' Referring to its engine, Adams-Farwell frequently used the slogan: ''It spins like a top''. An Automobile Quarterly article credits Mr. Farwell's inspiration for his rotary radial engine to have been a steam winch he had witnessed in operation in the late 19th century. Also mentioned in the cited article is the participation of an Adams-Farwell automobile in the first automobile race in America, but that is refuted by the following citation:

Innovations

Adams-Farwell automobiles had further unique details. The only available coachwork, called a

Convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

Brougham Brougham may refer to: Transport * Brougham (carriage), a light four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage * Brougham (car body), an automobile with a similar style Automobile models * Cadillac Brougham, 1987–1992 * Chrysler New Yorker Brougham, c. 1 ...

, was in fact a Town brougham, and the "convertible" part was not the top but driver's position. His bench seat in the front of the car was retractable and could fold away in inclement weather, thus forming a splash board. Then, the tiller and driving devices could easily be relocated in front of the rear seat, under the fixed top. These cars could even been started from the driver's seat as they provided a lever that had to be pulled up instead of the usual crank. This car was listed at US$2500, placing it in the lower luxury car field. It is this concept that leads to the claim that Adams-Farwell automobiles were among the first automobiles that could be driven year-round.encyclopediadubuque.com: ''Fay Oliver Farwell'' For 1906, Model 6 became Series 6. A new Series 6 40/45 hp with a five cylinder rotary was added. The car got a somewhat longer wheelbase, and a

Landaulet Landaulet may refer to: * Landaulet (carriage), horse-drawn carriage * Landaulet (car) A landaulet, also known as a landaulette, is a car body style where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top. Often the driver is separated from t ...

body style replaced the Brougham, probably very similar but with a convertible rear part of the top. New to the line was a touring car, frequently called a Convertible Runabout. Both body styles were 5-seaters. Three more cars were offered with the 40/45 hp engine only. One was an Extension Brougham with a longer wheelbase, the other, the Model 7-A, was a 7-passenger touring with a conventional looking front; the engine still was in the rear. The rear seat was slightly moved forward. While standard wheelbase was , the Extension Brougham's was , and the 7-A's . All got the retractable front seat bench and the unique steering system. The third new car was different. Called the Model 8-A Gentleman's Speed Roadster, it had the shortest chassis with , and the larger engine. Instead of using the familiar frame with a separate body, it had no chassis at all, anticipating later

unibody A vehicle frame, also historically known as its '' chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car ha ...

constructions. This sports car was very fast for the time with a top speed of around .conceptcarz.com: Adams-Farwell 7-A (1906) The only remaining Adams-Farwell automobile shows a tag by the Connolly Carriage & Buggy Co. It seems this company, not only reputed for quality carriages and coachwork, also built the chassis for the Adams-Farwell. As period advertisements indicate complete cars were offered, there is some evidence they might have built the bulk of the Adam-Farwell bodies.encyclopediadubuque.com: ''Thomas Connolly''coachbuilt.com: Thomas Connolly Carriage Works For 1907, most models were gone, and Adams-Farwell offered only an improved Model 7-A Touring, now with an even longer wheelbase and a higher price. Farwell had more ideas to offer. For 1908, a new Model 9 50 hp appeared. It seems this the first Adams-Farwell with a new and ingenious four speed

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

. Since most contemporary cars had three speeds, the new Adams-Farwell offered an ingenious construction consisting of the transmission, two clutches, a lever for each of them, and one handle to operate the levers. One clutch engaged gears 2 and 4, the other gears 1, 3, and reverse. So, two speeds could be "preselected", but the one-handle operation prevented two speeds being engaged at the same time. Further, antiquated tiller steering was replaced by a wheel, and there was a pedal for acceleration. Therefore, the removable steering was no longer offered, but Adams-Farwells got a rail instead in which the column and pedal could be moved from the left to the right, allowing the driver to sit either at the left, the right or in the center. Model 9 came as 7-passenger touring, a 3-passenger

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

, and 3-passenger roadster, the latter replacing the Model 8-A, featuring normal chassis and body construction. A final change came for 1909. The coupé was dropped, the roadster got one more seat, and the touring became even longer. Adam-Farwells were offered until 1912 (or 1913, depending on source) in this lineup. Then, production of automobiles ceased after just about 200 cars built. Usually, 25 cars per year left the factory, with 52-54 in 1910.trombinoscar.com: Adams-Farwell 7-A (1906) A few of them went to the Dubuque Police Department.

Adam-Farwell models

The small company brought out an impressive number of models, with some ingenious solutions for contemporary problems of driving: ''Note: Above coachwork designation is by manufacturer; they may not coincide with body designations as commonly in use.'' 1906 advertisements show a touring car with "fake" hood, designated Model L. It seems this is the Model 7-A 40/45 hp; there is no additional information about it, and there is no further evidence more models existed than listed above.

The only surviving Adams-Farwell

The

National Automobile Museum The National Automobile Museum is a museum in Reno, Nevada. Most of the vehicles displayed are from the collection of William F. Harrah. The museum opened on November 5, 1989. History William F. Harrah collected approximately 1,450 automobiles, ...

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

owns the last existing Adams-Farwell automobile, a Series 6 40/45 hp Touring

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

coach, built by the Connolly Carriage & Buggy Company, probably of Dubuque. This car was invited to the

Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an automotive charitable event held each year on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. It is widely considered the pinnacle event of its kind and one of the most prestigious car events in ...

in 2011 where it won the Charles A. Chayne Trophy for the most advanced technology of its period.Pebble Beach Concours

Post-automobile company history

Like another builder of rotary engined road vehicles, Stephen Marius Balzer of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the Adams Company offered light

gyrocopter An autogyro (from Ancient Greek, Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift (force), lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an ...

engines which successfully powered experimental flying machines by

Emile Berliner Emile Berliner (May 20, 1851 – August 3, 1929) originally Emil Berliner, was a German-American inventor. He is best known for inventing the lateral-cut flat disc record (called a "gramophone record" in British and American English) used with a ...

in 1909–1910 and J. Newton Williams in 1909. Engine production lasted longer than automobile manufacture although it is not clear when this stopped, too. The Adams Company then relied on their iron foundry and manufactured gears, shafts and parts for power transmissions. When F. Oliver Farwell left the company in 1921. He had about 20 patents to his name and tried to build up a business on one he held for a novel transmission for

merry-go-round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

s. Later, he worked in a gear-cutting company in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

. As of November 2017, The Adams Company continues as a custom manufacturer of industrial

gear A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic pr ...

s and

shafts ''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection, ...

. It is a closely-held private corporation.

References

Sources

* Clymer, Floyd. ''Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950. p. 55. *

Georgano, G.N. George Nicolas "Nick" Georgano (29 February 1932 – 22 October 2017Nick Georgano
Alvis Archive Bl ...

(1974). "Adams-Farwell", ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885–1968''. New York: E.P. Dutton and Co. p. 27. *