Brothers James and William Packard began their work in electrical manufacturing in 1890 when they opened the Packard Electric Company. Soon after, they also opened the New York & Ohio Company, which specialized in the manufacturing of incandescent lamps. William traveled the country promoting their products while James stayed at home and focused on production and improving their products. In the mid-1890’s, James took an interest in the horseless carriage, wanting to develop his own which was not dependent on steam or electricity. The first Packard automobile was produced in 1899 in Warren, Ohio and the evolution of the Packard Motor Car Company began. The brothers teamed up with George Lewis Weiss, and 400 Packard automobiles were built in Warren between 1899 and 1903. It was in October 1902 that the company officially became known as the Packard Motor Car Company and in 1903, the company found its new home in Detroit, Michigan.
The Packard brothers started to move away from the operation of their companies around 1909 when James resigned as company president, but the Packard Motor Car Company continued strong. It was considered a luxury automobile and was held in the same regard as the Pierce Arrow company of Buffalo, New York and the Peerless company of Cleveland, Ohio. Under company President and General Manager, James Alvan Macauley, Packard became the number one designer and producer of luxury automobiles in the United States. As operations grew and continued to grow in cities like Philadelphia, the company began exporting automobiles all over the world.
The Depression was hard on luxury car manufacturers. Peerless shut down in 1932 and by 1938 Pierce Arrow followed. Packard’s single production line allowed them to continue while maintaining lower costs. Packard also started production of mid-price range automobiles as the interest and ability to buy higher price cars diminished, leading Packard to see their sales triple in 1935 and double in 1936.
World War II saw Packard convert to 100% war time production, expanding their engines and making them for airplanes and boats. Having produced over 55,000 combat engines by the time the war was over, the Packard Motor Car Company was financially stable at the end of the war and their assets were $33M.
Packard Electric Company Plant – North Avenue, Warren OH
Model A Packard – One of the first five Packard’s built in 1889. Donated to Lehigh University by James Ward Packard
1910 Packard Automobile
Early Packard Automobile – Est. 1909
Packard Motor Car Advertisement
Packard advertisement featuring Gar Wood and Miss America X
Packard Marine Engine advertisement featuring Miss America VII
Remington-Burnelli RB-2 Front view, two Packard engines, on field