John (right) and Horace Dodge |
John and Horace Dodge grew up in a hard working, but poor family in Niles, Mich., where they learned the machinists trade early in life by working in their father's steam engine shop. The Dodge family moved from Niles to Battle Creek and then Port Huron before ending up in Detroit in 1886.
After their arrival in Detroit, the Dodge bothers quickly began sharpening their machinist skills by working in area machine shops, including Murphy's Boiler Works in Detroit where they made marine boilers and Windsor's Dominion Typograph Company (later Canadian Typograph Company) in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. By 1896, Horace had invented and patented a new dirt-resistant bicycle ball bearing. The following year, the brothers partnered with Frederick Evans and began manufacturing Evans & Dodge bicycles with the new ball bearings.
Dodge brothers open machine shop
The Dodges sold their interest in the bicycle company in 1900 for $3,700, which they used to open their own machine shop in the Boydell Building on Beaubien Street in Detroit in 1901. They initially produced stove parts, but soon began to manufacture parts for the growing automotive industry. During the years that followed, the Dodge Brothers Company flourished and established itself as one the largest suppliers of automobile parts with a reputation for turning out the best products available.
Their first major automotive customer was Ransom E. Olds, who hired them in 1901 to produce 2,000 engines for his new curved-dash Oldsmobile. Olds was pleased enough with their work to add 3,000 transmissions to his order the following year, making the brothers major players in the automotive industry.
Dodge brothers contract with Henry Ford
The Dodge brothers were approached by Henry Ford in 1902 with his plans for a new automobile and contracted with him to become the exclusive supplier of 650 chassis. The bothers agreed to produce almost the entire chassis (engines, transmissions and axles mounted on frames — everything but the body, wheels and tires). When Ford, who was initially short on cash, couldn’t make a $5,000 payment, he offered the brothers 50 shares of Ford stock worth $10,000, making them 10-percent stockholders in the new Ford Motor Company.
The brothers would remain as Ford Motor Company suppliers for the next 10 years, and John Dodge worked as vice president of the Ford company, until they began to manufacture their own nameplate in 1914. They founded their own car company with stock profits made from Ford and soon became a major competitor.
The Dodge brothers kept their shares in the Ford Motor Company until 1919, when they sold it back to Ford for $25 million.
Dodge Brothers Motor Cars established
The Dodge Main factory complex in
Hamtramck continued to grow and expand
over the years to include 5 million square
feet of workspace. |
In 1910, the Dodge brothers built an assembly plant in Hamtramck, which later became known as "Dodge Main," to build Model Ts for Ford Motor Company because demand far outstripped Ford's capacity. However, Henry Ford kept adding capacity to his Highland Park plant and the Dodge brothers could see their lucrative assembly business drying up.
Due to his increasing unhappiness with decisions made by Ford, John Dodge declined to renew contracts with Ford Motor Company in 1913 and stepped down as the company’s vice president. The Dodge brothers began planning production of their own Dodge automobile and established Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company in 1913.
By this time, the Dodge brothers had become such well-known and respected manufacturers. Based on their reputation, more than 20,000 people applied for Dodge dealerships before any details about the Dodge automobile had been released.
After a lengthy and extensive plant retooling and expansion program, the first Dodge automobile rolled off the assembly lines at the Hamtramck plant on Nov. 14, 1914. The Dodge cars had electric starters, sliding gear transmissions and rear wheel brakes. Just three years later, Dodge Brothers Motors Car Company became the fourth largest American automobile manufacturer.
Dodge brothers aid war effort
As World War I began to heat up in Europe, the Dodge brothers were called upon in 1917 to make the delicate recoil firing mechanisms for French 75 and 155 cannons, which were the backbone of the Allied artillery effort.
Working by hand, the French were only able to produce about five recoil mechanisms a day and had turned to the United States for help.
Aside from producing touring cars, ambulances and screen side units for use on the battlefield, the Dodge brothers built and equipped a new factory in Hamtramck for the sole purpose of producing the precision recoil mechanisms. Within a year, the Dodge factories were able to produce up to 30 mechanisms a day.
Dodge company sold
In January 1920, John and Horace attended the International Automobile Show in New York. While at the show, Horace became ill with influenza, and John became ill shortly thereafter. Both men eventually died from complications resulting in pneumonia, John on Jan. 14, 1920, and Horace just 11 months later on Dec. 10, 1920.
Control of the Dodge Brothers Motor Company reverted to the widows, Matilda Rausch Dodge and Anna Thompson Dodge, who asked Frederick Haynes, manager of the Dodge Main plant, to run the company. Under Haynes, the company continued to grow and acquired Graham Truck, which became Dodge Truck.
In 1925, the widows of John and Horace Dodge, sold the company to the New York investment firm of Dillon Reed and Company for $146 million, which was the biggest cash deal in the auto industry up to that time. Matilda's personal share was $30 million.
Less than three years later, Walter Chrysler began negotiations for the company and purchased it in 1928 for $170 million. Still a strong brand today, Dodge is now part of the DaimlerChrysler Corporation's Chrysler Group.