Citrus County’s Real Classic Cars
By: Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society
Everyone is familiar with the Ford Model T. Its inexpensive price due to the revolutionary assembly line method led the Model T to become the most popular car in America. Test your memory to see if you recognize any of the following vehicle brands: Hupmobile, Overland, Maxwell, E-M-F, Jackson, Page, Penn, Studebaker, Chandler, Bush, Metz, Oakland, REO, Hudson, Mitchell, Miami and Brush. If you’re like most people, you may have read articles mentioning a few of these automobiles but most are unrecognizable. If you had been living about 100 years ago, however, not only would these names been familiar but you would have seen them driving down the newly paved roads of Citrus County.
E-M-F
The E-M-F was considered to be a rugged early entry in the “Brass Era” of automobiles. The company derived its name from the names of its founders (Everitt, Metzger and Flanders). Pioneer farmer Ralph “Elmer” Van Ness in Hernando used his E-M-F for both basic transportation and as a working vehicle in his orange groves. It featured a robust 30 hp engine that was more than sufficient for Van Ness’ needs. In its heyday, E-M-F was the fourth largest auto manufacturer in the US, behind Ford, Buick and Overland. The E-M-F company was eventually taken over by Studebaker. In addition to Van Ness, E-M-F vehicles were owned by W.B. Holder (Crystal River); Wm. Bratt (Hernando); and D.L. Ghiotto (Dunnellon) who used his E-M-F for commercial transportation.
Miami (OH) Cycle & Manufacturing
On the other end of the spectrum, Joseph Williams of Crystal River needed a simpler and more efficient means of transportation. He purchased a Miami motorcycle in 1911. This model produced a mere 4 hp, which would put in the category of today’s 49cc scooters. The company produced a more powerful model called the “Flying Merkel” that boasted an 884cc engine with a top speed of 60 mph. For those who really wanted to “fly”, a 997cc sport racing model was also available that could go even faster but did not have brakes.
Maxwell
The Maxwell Motor company was one of the three largest auto companies in the USA. A significant number of Citrus County residents owned a Maxwell, such as James and Bessie (Baker) Inlow, pictured with their son Jimmy. Others owning a Maxwell were (Floral City) – J.B. King; (Inverness) – Miss Josephine Wood, O.M. Johnson, Frank Ellison, Wm Schneider; (Red Level) – H.L.Hough; (Crystal River) – W.A. Sparkman, H.W. Edwards, Haywood Rigby, R.L. Patterson. Maxwell was the first US automobile company to aggressively market to women customers. It was an early supporter of the Constitutional Amendment for women suffrage. The company was headed by Walter Flanders, who had previously worked for Ford Motors and had been a partner in the upstart E-M-F company (above). Maxwell was eventually assumed by Chrysler Motors.
Bush – Judge E.C. May
E.C. May purchased his personal car from the Bush Motor Company. Bush had a different business model than its competitors because the company did not manufacture its own automobiles. Rather, it purchased units from small manufacturers and then rebadged the car before selling to the consumer. May eventually decided to trade his car for a Ford Model T in 1916. He escaped serious injury on March 11, 1918 when his Model T plunged off the small Gospel Island bridge between Big Lake Henderson and Little Lake Henderson. The structure was later replaced when another driver suffered fatal injuries after careening off the same bridge.
Citrus County’s First Taxi – J.K. Eubanks
J.K. Eubanks was an enterprising resident of Crystal River. Along with J.E. Stevens, he had purchased the bustling oyster business from the Hoy family and formed the Crystal River Fish and Oyster Co. He was also a road construction contractor and was responsible for many of the hard roads leading from Crystal River. Eubanks was reportedly the third person in Citrus County to purchase an automobile. When he purchased a Buick 20 in 1910 from a Brooksville dealer, he announced that he would transport people between Crystal River and Inverness as well as Ocala.
His services were very popular with people traveling to the courts in those cities. Using his livery stable as a central garage, he would drive groups of young people to Inverness on weekend nights so they could enjoy the nightlife of the town. Business was so good that he upgraded his automobile to a new Cadillac V-8 with more seating capacity. This power plan produced 70hp and could easily cruise at 65mph, which was faster than most roads could safely support. A motometer (pictured) was mounted on the hood to provide the driver with information about the temperature of the radiator.
Citrus County Car Dealers
Any time there are potential customers, you’ll find automobile dealers ready to convince them that they need a new car. Unlike today’s dealers who add “nitrogen fees”, “dealer fees”, “market adjustments” and any number of subterfuges to increase their profit, the dealers of yesterday published the bottom-line prices of their cars in the newspaper. Inverness had two major dealers – one that featured General Motors cars and the other that offered Ford products. They were both located downtown near the site of today’s Old Courthouse Heritage Museum.
General Motors (Buick). This dealership was located on the South West corner of South Apopka Avenue and Main Street. Note the Buick Model 41 Limousine on the right. While most cars of the period were open to the elements, the Buick Model 41 offered a hard-sided enclosed passenger cabin so the riders would be protected from the elements. A uniformed driver would be less protected in the front.
The local Ford dealership was named the Inverness Motor Company and was also located near the Courthouse. Note the antique gas pumps in the front. These devices required the gas to be hand-pumped up to the reservoir on top and the fluid would be gravity-fed into the automobile tank. You can see an actual hand-operated gas pump by visiting the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum in Inverness.
