Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Co.

Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company was an American commercial-vehicle manufacturer based in Springfield, Ohio. The business was established in 1910 by Edwin S. Kelly, an entrepreneur who had previously been associated with the Kelly-Springfield Tire Company. Kelly acquired the Frayer Miller Auto Company in 1909 and initially reorganized it as the Kelly Motor Truck Company. In 1912, the enterprise adopted the Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company name. The company entered the market with trucks using air-cooled Frayer engines, but soon moved toward vehicles powered by water-cooled engines of its own design. Its early standardized range included the K-31, rated at one and a half tons; the K-35, rated at two and a half tons; and the K-40, rated at three and a half tons. A larger five-ton K-50 followed, and later catalogs covered vehicles from roughly one and a half tons to more than six tons. Model designations and payload ratings changed over time, with the catalog expanding to include variants such as the K-32, K-36, K-45, K-50, K-60 and K-61, as well as several later model revisions. Kelly-Springfield developed a broad distribution footprint for a relatively small manufacturer. Its principal manufacturing base was in Springfield, while the company maintained a headquarters presence in San Francisco, a Seattle branch from 1917 to 1926, an Indianapolis branch and a Los Angeles distributorship. The company’s vehicles were sold to commercial operators and public-service organizations, including the Pacific Motor Coach Company of Los Angeles. In April 1914, that operator reportedly ordered 105 trucks, an unusually large order for the period. The company also pursued military and government business during and after the First World War. It supplied K-40 trucks to the Canadian Army and K-35 trucks to the French Army. It was also connected with production of Liberty trucks for the United States Army, although surviving reference accounts disagree substantially about the number completed: one account credits Kelly-Springfield with 301 of the 9,364 Liberty trucks supplied, while another reports that only 16 were completed before the contract was canceled when the war ended. Contemporary material also described a large United States Post Office order and a major expansion of production capacity between 1914 and 1919. The military experience appears to have exposed limitations in the company’s vehicles under severe service conditions. By 1920, the company had been taken over by Hare’s Motors and operated a substantial Springfield plant. Its product range then extended from light medium-duty trucks to vehicles rated at approximately six and a half tons. The business continued into the middle of the decade, but its operations ended later in 1927. A separate Kelly-Springfield Truck & Bus Corporation advertised the Springfield plant for sale that year. A 1927 congressional relief measure referred to the Kelly Springfield Motor Truck Company of California, reflecting the company’s complicated corporate and geographic history near the end of its life. The brand no longer operates as a vehicle manufacturer. Its historical significance rests on its participation in the formative American truck industry, its early use of proprietary water-cooled truck engines, its extensive model nomenclature, and its involvement in commercial, postal and military vehicle supply. The former Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company building in Seattle is recognized as a city landmark, and company-related material is held by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.

Kelly-Springfield’s origins lay in Edwin S. Kelly’s acquisition of the Frayer Miller Auto Company in 1909. Kelly reorganized the operation as the Kelly Motor Truck Company in 1910, creating a dedicated truck manufacturer in Springfield, Ohio. The company received its better-known Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company name in 1912. Its first products used air-cooled Frayer engines, but the company soon introduced a group of trucks with water-cooled engines designed by Kelly-Springfield. These included the one-and-a-half-ton K-31, the two-and-a-half-ton K-35 and the three-and-a-half-ton K-40. The larger K-50 provided a five-ton offering. During the 1910s, Kelly-Springfield broadened both its model range and its distribution network. Catalog listings show vehicles in several payload categories, including K-31, K-32, K-35, K-36, K-40, K-45, K-50 and K-60 models. Later listings added variants and heavier vehicles such as the K-61. The company’s principal factory was in Springfield, but its commercial reach extended westward. It maintained a headquarters presence in San Francisco, operated a Seattle branch between 1917 and 1926, and had branches or distributorships in Indianapolis and Los Angeles. Commercial fleet sales were an important part of the company’s development. In April 1914, the Pacific Motor Coach Company of Los Angeles ordered 105 trucks. The order was regarded in period accounts as potentially one of the largest single orders for motor trucks up to that date. Kelly-Springfield also pursued public-sector contracts. During the First World War it supplied K-40 trucks to the Canadian Army and K-35 trucks to the French Army. The company was associated with Liberty-truck production for the United States Army, though historical references disagree on its exact output. One source attributes 301 of the 9,364 Liberty trucks supplied to the Army to Kelly-Springfield, while another says that only 16 were completed before the war ended and the contract was canceled. The vehicles’ reported difficulty in meeting the demands of military service illustrates the challenges faced by early truck manufacturers. The company’s postwar expansion included a reported United States Post Office order for 5,900 trucks. A distributor also claimed that production capacity had increased by 600 percent between August 1914 and February 1919. These figures come from historical accounts and should be treated as period claims rather than audited company statistics. By 1920, the enterprise had been taken over by Hare’s Motors. It continued to manufacture a broad line of trucks, with capacities extending from one and a half tons to approximately six and a half tons. The company’s later years were unstable. In 1927, Congress approved H.R. 1105 concerning relief for the Kelly Springfield Motor Truck Company of California. The company ultimately ended operations during that year, and a Kelly-Springfield Truck & Bus Corporation advertisement offered the Springfield manufacturing plant for sale. The available reference material does not establish a continuing successor brand or a later revival of the truck manufacturer. The surviving legacy is primarily historical. The former Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company building in Seattle is regarded as a city landmark, while the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History holds material relating to the company. Kelly-Springfield represents the early American truck sector’s transition from small automotive workshops to specialized commercial-vehicle producers serving freight operators, public agencies and military customers.

1. 1927Operations end

   The company eventually ceased operations, and the Springfield plant was advertised for sale by a related Kelly-Springfield truck and bus corporation.

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2. 1920Taken over by Hare's Motors

   Hare’s Motors took control of the business, which continued producing trucks from its Springfield plant.

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3. 1917Seattle branch opens

   The company operated a Seattle branch as part of its expanding United States distribution network.

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4. 1914Large Pacific Motor Coach order

   Pacific Motor Coach Company of Los Angeles placed a reported order for 105 trucks.

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5. 1912Kelly-Springfield name adopted

   The company became Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company and introduced three water-cooled models of its own design.

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6. 1910Kelly Motor Truck Company established

   Kelly established the truck business in Springfield, Ohio, initially operating under the Kelly Motor Truck Company name.

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7. 1909Edwin Kelly acquires Frayer Miller Auto Company

   Edwin S. Kelly purchased the Frayer Miller Auto Company, the industrial base from which his truck manufacturing venture developed.

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An early American commercial-vehicle manufacturer offering a broad range of payload classes for private operators, public services and military users. The company emphasized a progressively expanded truck range and regional distribution rather than a single signature vehicle.

• K-31Medium-duty truck1912

  The K-31 was one of Kelly-Springfield’s early water-cooled models and was rated at one and a half tons. It remained part of the company’s catalog through several years of production and represented the lighter end of its core commercial-truck range.

• K-35Medium-duty truck1912

  The two-and-a-half-ton K-35 was one of the three principal models introduced after the company moved from air-cooled Frayer engines toward water-cooled engines of its own design. K-35 trucks were supplied to the French Army during the First World War, although historical accounts indicate that Kelly-Springfield vehicles faced difficulties under severe military operating conditions.

• K-40Heavy-duty truck1912

  The K-40 was a three-and-a-half-ton truck introduced in the company’s early water-cooled range. Vehicles of this type were supplied to the Canadian Army during the First World War. The model occupied an important middle-to-heavy position in Kelly-Springfield’s evolving commercial lineup.

• K-50Heavy-duty truck

  The K-50 extended the range to a five-ton payload class. It was among the company’s recurring production models during the late 1910s and early 1920s, when Kelly-Springfield marketed trucks for larger freight and public-service requirements.

• K-60 and K-61Heavy-duty truck

  The K-60 and later K-61 represented the upper end of the published Kelly-Springfield truck range. The K-60 was listed as a six-ton model, while the K-61 was listed at seven tons in 1922 and 1923 catalogs. These vehicles demonstrate the company’s movement toward larger-capacity commercial trucks.

• Kelly-Springfield busesBus

  Kelly-Springfield later manufactured or marketed buses in addition to trucks. A surviving reference image documents a Kelly-Springfield bus associated with the Pacific Motor Coach Company of Los Angeles, but the available material does not provide a complete bus model range.

• 1927Disposition of the Springfield plantStrategy

  The truck business was nearing the end of its operating life, and a congressional relief measure had been approved for a Kelly Springfield Motor Truck Company entity in California.

  What changed. The Kelly-Springfield Truck & Bus Corporation advertised the Springfield manufacturing plant for sale.

  Aftermath. The company eventually ceased operations, leaving no documented active successor manufacturer under the brand.

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• 1920Takeover by Hare's MotorsM&A

  After its wartime and postwar expansion, Kelly-Springfield operated a large plant and a wide truck range but faced an increasingly difficult commercial environment.

  What changed. Hare’s Motors took over the company.

  Aftermath. Truck production continued for a time, but the business ultimately ended operations in 1927.

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• 1912Shift to proprietary water-cooled enginesStrategy

  The company began with trucks using air-cooled Frayer engines but sought a more distinctive and scalable product range.

  What changed. It introduced the K-31, K-35 and K-40 with water-cooled engines of its own design.

  Aftermath. The change established the model architecture used in the company’s expanding truck catalog.

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• 1927Kelly-Springfield truck operations end

  The company eventually ceased operations. A Kelly-Springfield Truck & Bus Corporation advertisement that year sought a buyer for the Springfield manufacturing plant.

  BankruptcyOther
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• 1920Hare's Motors takes over Kelly-Springfield

  Hare's Motors took over the company, which by then operated a large Springfield plant and offered trucks ranging from approximately one and a half to six and a half tons.

  M&A
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• 1918Kelly-Springfield supplies military and government vehicles

  The manufacturer supplied trucks to the Canadian and French armies, participated in Liberty-truck production for the United States Army, and was reported to have fulfilled a large United States Post Office order.

  Other
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• 1917Kelly-Springfield expands distribution and production

  The company operated a Seattle branch and maintained additional distribution facilities as its truck business expanded across the United States.

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• 1914Pacific Motor Coach Company places a large truck order

  The Pacific Motor Coach Company of Los Angeles reportedly ordered 105 Kelly-Springfield trucks, described in contemporary accounts as an exceptionally large truck order for its time.

  Other
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• 1912Kelly Motor Truck Company becomes Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company

  The truck business adopted the Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company name and introduced new models powered by water-cooled engines of its own design.

  Product launch
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1. Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company
2. Crittenden Automotive Library: Kelly-Springfield truck specifications and images