Perley Albert Thomas (1874–1958) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
-born
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
industrialist and
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
. He was trained as a millsmith (specifically in
woodworking
Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.
History
Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...
), and moved to
Cleveland, Ohio, where he was employed by a
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...
manufacturer.
Thomas was born on a farm outside of
Chatham, Ontario, grew up in the area and in 1901 he moved to the US settling in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
.
He attended night courses at
Case Institute of Technology
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location i ...
, and learned
technical drawing
Technical drawing, drafting or drawing, is the act and discipline of composing drawings that visually communicate how something functions or is constructed.
Technical drawing is essential for communicating ideas in industry and engineering ...
, design skills, and structural engineering. As the streetcar manufacturers transitioned from wooden to steel construction, his expertise allowed him to accept a better offer with Southern Car Company in
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city that ...
, where he became chief
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
, and he and his wife moved south in 1910. Thomas became chief engineer, draftsman and designer for the company, using both his mechanical skills and his experience as a skilled woodworker. After he was laid off there when the company folded in 1916, he was persuaded to undertake a contract to renovate streetcars for the Southern Public Utilities Company of
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, using Southern's former facilities and many of its employees. The following year, he organized
Perley A. Thomas Car Works, which became famous for its streetcars.
Perley A. Thomas streetcars were renowned for their expert craftsmanship and solid construction, and operated in many large North American cities, including
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
and
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...
. A famous
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
play and later film of the same name was set in
, where Perley A. Thomas streetcars were operated on the route labeled "Desire" around the period of 1947 in which the story was set; hence the name: ''
A Streetcar Named Desire
''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...
''. Late in the 20th century, local employees carefully restored the cars, which operate on a heritage streetcar system.
As he had noted and taken advantage of the transition from wooden to steel streetcars, he also recognized the transition from streetcars to
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es which
North America was undergoing in the 1930s. Thomas guided his company through a transition to bus manufacturing in 1936.
The Perley A. Thomas Car Works was later reorganized as
Thomas Built Buses, Inc., and became one of the three principal builders of large
school buses in the United States by the end of the 20th century. It is still based in High Point, and is part of th
Freightliner Groupof
Daimler AG
The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactu ...
, a worldwide automotive manufacturer.
Perley A. Thomas was inducted into the North Carolina Transportation Hall of Fame in 2004. He was inducted into the North American Railway Hall of Fame, St Thomas, Ontario, in 2010.
References
External links
Photos of a streetcar ("Arch Roof") designed by the Perley Thomas Car Company, built in 1922-24. Thomas Built Buses Company History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Perley A.
1874 births
1958 deaths
American manufacturing businesspeople
People in bus transport
American automotive pioneers
Canadian emigrants to the United States