The McCabe-Powers Body Company was a producer of
carriages and later of
utility trucks and other motor vehicles. The company was founded in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
in 1877 by James H. McCabe and Thomas O'Farrell as "James H. McCabe and Thomas O'Farell, Carriage Builders". This eventually became the ''McCabe-Bierman Wagon Company'', and, from 1906 (after Edward J. Powers, Sr. had become a partner), the ''McCabe-Powers Carriage Company''.
Originally producing horse-drawn wagons, the company later made motor-driven cars, specializing in
hearse
A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately a ...
s, passenger limos, delivery vehicles, utility vehicles, and producing military vehicles during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. A wagon produced by McCabe-Bierman was used in the 1904 World's Fair, winning a silver medal for design. This wagonette is now on display at the
Missouri History Museum
The Missouri History Museum in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri, showcases Missouri history. It is operated by the Missouri Historical Society, which was founded in 1866. Museum admission is free through a public subsidy by the Metropolitan ...
in
Forest Park, St. Louis.
The company remained in the hands of the Powers family until it was sold in 1983 and no longer produced truck bodies.
External links
McCabe Powers Historical Museum website dedicated to the history of the company
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
Manufacturing companies based in St. Louis
{{Motorvehicle-company-stub
Coachbuilders of the United States