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Move Over Detroit - New Jersey is
Rich in Automotive Manufacturing History
“Since the late nineteenth century, New Jersey has taken an active role in the development of the automobile manufacturing industry in the United States. Oberlin Smith, of the Ferracute Machine Company in Bridgeton, can be credited with building a "horseless carriage" as early as 1868. Unfortunately, the steam driven carriage ran wild after the control level jolted loose on the Main Street of Bridgeton in the trial run. Smith built a second machine in 1874 and powered it with a marine steam engine. It, too, failed, crashing into the local pond.”
New Jersey played an important role in the automotive industry in the United States. However, when we think of automobile manufacturing, people tend to think of Michigan. Not to take away from Michigan, but the great State of New Jersey played quite a role as far back as 1868.
According to an American Historic Engineering Record, Department of the Interior, by 1927, there were 103 firms in New Jersey associated in some way with the automobile industry. Most of the 13,400 employees were concentrated in the Ford installation at Kearny and the Durant plant at Elizabeth. Another noteworthy transportation company in 1927 was International Motor Company, manufacturer of Mack truck motors in Plainfield.
Here are a few of the more well-known New Jersey assembly plants that employed thousands of workers:
- - Inland Fisher Guide (GM) - located in the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey, that opened in 1938 as one of its most modern plants and was operated by the firm for 60 years. The facility was initially part of the Ternstedt division of (more)
- - Linden (GM) - located in Linden, New Jersey. The plant operated from 1937 to 2005 and made cars, trucks and SUVs for various GM automotive divisions. Between 1937 and 1941 over three hundred thousand autos (more)
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- - Edgewater (Ford) - located in Edgewater, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The factory began operations in (more)
- - Kearny (Ford) - “Ford erected five buildings in the Kearny marshes in 1918. Eventually, upwards of 8,000 men worked (more)
- - Edison/Metuchen (Ford) - located in Edison, New Jersey. It was located at 939 U.S. Route 1 and occupied over 100 acres when it was open. The plant, which began operation in 1948, produced 6,853,228 vehicles during its lifespan.The factory began (more)
- - Mahwah (Ford) - located in Mahwah, New Jersey, 30 miles (48 km) from New York City. It occupied over 172 acres. (more)
- Riker Electric Vehicle Company, Elizabeth
- Lansden Company, Newark (trucks)
- Canda Manufacturing Company, Carteret
- Prescott Auto Manufacturing Company, Passaic
- Standard Motor Construction Company, Bayonne
- Rockaway Automobile Company
- Walter Automobile Company, Trenton
- Vandewater and Company, Elizabeth
- Torbensen Motor Car Company, Bloomfield
- Gadabout Motor Corporation, Newark
- Crane Motor Company, Bayonne
- Simplex Manufacturing Company, New Brunswick
- Mercer Automobile Company, Trenton (backed by the Roebling brothers)
- International Motor Company, Plainfield (Mack truck motors)
Although you would be hard pressed to find any of these factories still standing, you can do a bit of research and perhaps see some old photos or drawings of these old but not quite forgotten examples of automotive history.
Compiled from information obtained from various sites - fordmotorhistory.com, Wikipedia, Military.com, and Hemmings.
Information derived from research at various sites
