St. Louis Motor Carriage Company was a manufacturer of automobiles at 1211–13 North Vandeventer Avenue in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, founded by George Preston Dorris (later credited with developing and patenting the float-carburetor) and John L. French in 1898, with French taking charge of marketing and Dorris heading engineering and production. St. Louis Motor Carriage was the first of many St. Louis automakers and produced automobiles from 1899 to 1907.

History

George Dorris was an automotive pioneer who built his first experimental car in 1895 in

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. John French also from Nashville, involved his family and Jesse French, Sr. put up most of the money needed to form St. Louis Motor Carriage Company. A new purpose built factory was built in St. Louis.

St. Louis, Missouri

The first St. Louis models had

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and twin-cylinder engines,

chain drive Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another. It is often used to convey power to the wheels of a vehicle, particularly bicycles and motorcycles. It is also used in a wide variety of machines besides vehicles. ...

and a steering lever for steering. In 1901 there were five models to choose from; single-cylinder models from 7 hp to 10hp and two-cylinder models from 15hp to 25hp. Prices started at $1,000, . In 1900, John French drove a St. Louis on the first automobile trip between St. Louis and

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. In 1901 he was one of only three drivers to finish in a New York-to-Buffalo race. In 1902 a

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...

was introduced. A new model was a 35hp

four-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

engine touring car was available for one year only. The single and twin-cylinder engines remained in production. By 1904 there were two models with single-cylinder engines, the runabout and

tonneau A tonneau ( or ) is an area of a car or truck open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo. A tonneau cover in current automotive terminology is a hard or soft cover that spans the back of a pickup truck to protect the load or to improve ...

. A 24hp three-cylinder engine was introduced with a tonneau body. In 1905 the cars consisted of a choice of a 12hp with a single-cylinder engine, 16hp with a two-cylinder engine or 20/24hp with a three-cylinder engine. All models had an 86-inch

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 ...

with a side-entrance tonneau body.

Peoria, Illinois

The St. Louis Motor Carriage Company moved to

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in 1905 and became the St. Louis Motor Car Company. A new three-story factory on 10 acres was constructed. George Dorris started his own car company, the Dorris Motor Car Company, in the former St. Louis Motor Carriage plant in 1906 Dorris motor cars were in production until 1926.''St.Louis Post-Dispatch'' January 13, 2004 From 1906 all St. Louis cars had a four-cylinder engine with a drive-shaft. The models received

Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

as designations. The Type XV had an engine rated at 30/34hp and a wheelbase of 104-inches. The Type XVI had a more powerful 32/36hp engine on a longer 108-inch wheelbase. Both were

touring cars Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not move ...

with five seats. In 1907 there were three models to choose from; Type XVII had a 35hp engine and was designed as a two-seater runabout. The Type XVIII was identical except for being a five-seat touring car. The Type XIX had an engine with 45/50 hp and a wheelbase of 112-inches. It was available as a touring car with five or seven seats. From 1906 all cars were priced in the $2,000 range with the Tye XIX priced at $3,000, . With the cost of the expansion, in July 1907, Jesse French, Jr. reported the company was financially in trouble. In August, St. Louis Motor Car Company was in

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and the

Panic of 1907 The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from ...

dried up any rescue financing. By December, the factory was sold for $10,000.

Gallery

File:First automobile built by the St. Louis Motor Carriage Company. The car was completed in late April or early May of 1899 and sold to A.L. Lambrechts of St. Louis.jpg, First automobile built by the St. Louis Motor Carriage Company. The car was completed in late April or early May of 1899 and sold to A.L. Lambrechts of St. Louis. File:1901 St Louis runabout.jpg, George Dorris and his wife in a 1901 St. Louis runabout File:Workers assembling transmissions. St. Louis Motor Carriage Company factory.jpg, Workers assembling transmissions at St. Louis Motor Carriage Company factory File:St. Louis tonneau with George Dorris and John French, c. 1903.jpg, George Dorris and John French in a 1903 St. Louis tonneau File:Jesse French Sr. at the wheel of a 1904 "St. Louis" model car built at the St. Louis Motor Carriage Company.jpg, Jesse French Sr. at the wheel of a 1904 St. Louis

External links

1904 St. Louis at ConceptCarz

The Best of the Little Three - Saint Louis Runabout - Hemmings article

References