The Smith Automobile Company of
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...
was an early
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
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 ...
manufacturing company which produced the Veracity, Smith, and Great Smith lines of automobiles from 1902 to 1911. They were the first automobiles made west of the Mississippi River.
History
Terry Stafford was testing his first car by February, 1900. Lacking operating capital, he gained financing from the artificial limb manufacturing brothers Anton and Clement Smith. The Smith brothers financed the building of a factory and the first automobiles were sold to the public in August, 1902.
Early two-cylinder Smiths were marketed as Veracity with Smith becoming the marque name with the introduction of larger cars.
Smith Automobile Company was formed in November 1904 with a capitalization of $100,000. Terry Stafford designed a new four-cylinder car with shaft-drive introduced as a mid year-model in 1906.
The Great Smith of 1907 was priced at $2,500 () with a 318 in
3 (5213 cc) (4.5×5-inch, 114×127mm) water-cooled four, four-speed sliding gear
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
*** ...
(three forward, one reverse), multi-disk
clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
. It featured 34×4 in (86×10 cm) spoke wheels and a 107 in (2718 mm)
wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
. Smith advertised heavily that almost all parts were built in their own factory under their own patents.
In 1908, a Great Smith became the first automobile to make it to the top of
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest ...
.
[McConnell, Curt (1995). ''Great Cars of the Great Plains''. University of Nebraska Press. ] In 1908 and 1909, the Smith brothers sold their interests in the company and Michigan investors took over with plans to move the factory to
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...
. This was opposed by
A.L.A.M. and Smith remained in Topeka.
In 1910 Smith Automobile made a plea for financial assistance to Topeka residents to save the company but by December, 1910 Smith Automobile Company was in the hands of a Receiver.
Upon exiting the automobile business, Anton Smith reportedly destroyed all the files and records of the company in a large bonfire.
Terry Stafford left the company in 1908 to build an automobile under his own name. The Stafford Motor Car Company lasted until 1915. President
Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
owned a Stafford Automobile.
The Smith automobile plant was sold to Charles and George Southwick in 1911 who built remaining Smith cars from parts on hand. The plant was sold to a
silo
A silo (from the Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is used t ...
manufacturer in 1912.
The
Kansas Historical Society
The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas.
Headquartered in Topeka, it operates as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history and operates the Kansas Museum of History, Kan ...
has a red and black Great Smith on display.
Models
File:1905 Smith Surrey from Smith Catalog.jpg, 1905 Smith Surrey from a Smith Automobile catalog
File:1906 Smith 24-Hp Touring car article The Automobile magazine.jpg, 1906 Smith 24-hp Touring Car from The Automobile
File:1906 Smith Four-Cylinder article The Automobile magazine.jpg, 1906 Smith Four-cylinder Touring Car with Shaft-drive from The Automobile
File:1907 Great Smith fro article in Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1907 Great Smith Touring Car from article in Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal
File:1911 Great Smith Cruiser in Hand Book of Gasoline Automobiles.jpg, 1911 Great Smith Cruiser from Hand Book of Gasoline Automobiles
File:1911 Great Smith Touring Car in Hand Book of Gasoline Automobiles.jpg, 1911 Great Smith Touring Car from Hand Book of Gasoline Automobiles
Advertisements
File:1906 Great Smith small advertisement in Motor magazine.jpg, 1906 Great Smith advertisement in Motor magazine
File:1907 Great Smith advertisement in 1906 Motor Way.jpg, 1907 Great Smith in Motor Way
File:1910 Great Smith Cars advertisement detail from Motor Age.jpg, 1910 Great Smith advertisement from Motor Age
See also
*
Brass Era car
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 1915 ...
*
List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers
This is a list of defunct automobile manufacturers of the United States. They were discontinued for various reasons, such as bankruptcy of the parent company, mergers, or being phased out.
A
* A Automobile Company (1910–1913) 'Blue & Gold' ...
References
External links
Kansas State Historical Society -Great Smith AutomobileKansas State Historical Society - Smith Automobile Company{{Commons category, Smith Automobile Company
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
Topeka, Kansas
American companies established in 1902
1902 establishments in Kansas
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1902
American companies disestablished in 1912
1912 disestablishments in Kansas
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1911
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Kansas
Veteran vehicles
Brass Era vehicles
1900s cars
1910s cars
Cars introduced in 1902