John Francis Dodge
John Francis Dodge (
October 25,
1864 -
January 14,
1920) was an
American automobile manufacturing pioneer.
Born in
Niles,
Michigan, where his father owned a foundry and machine shop, John Dodge and his younger brother
Horace were inseparable as children and as adults. The origins of the Dodge family lie in
Stockport ,
England where their ancestral home still stands.
In 1886, the Dodge brothers moved to
Detroit where they took jobs at a boiler maker plant. In 1894 they went to work as machinists at the Dominion Typograph Company across the
Detroit River in
Windsor, Ontario. While John Dodge was the sales minded managerial type, brother Horace was a gifted mechanic and inveterate tinkerer. Using a dirt-proof ball bearing Horace invented and patented, in 1897 John arranged a deal for them to join with a third party investor to manufacture
bicycles. Within a few years, they sold the bicycle business and in 1900 used the proceeds of the sale to set up their own machine shop in Detroit. In their first year of business the Dodge brothers' company began making parts for the automobile industry. In 1902 the Dodge brothers won a contract to build transmissions for the
Oldsmobile Motor Company upon which they built a solid reputation for quality and service. However, the following year they turned down a second contract from Oldsmobile to retool their plant to build engines for
Henry Ford in a deal that included a share position in the new Ford Motor Company. By 1910, John Dodge and his brother were so successful they a built a new plant in
Hamtramck, Michigan.
In 1907 a prosperous John Dodge married employee Matilda Rausch with whom he had three children. The next year they purchased
Meadow Brook Farm where their eldest child
Frances would develop a love of horses that led her to acquiring
Castleton Farm in
Lexington, Kentucky, turning it into one of the leading horse breeding operations in the United States.
For ten years the Dodge brothers business were Ford Motor Company suppliers, and John Dodge worked as vice president of the Ford company. He left Ford in 1913 and in 1914 he and Horace formed Dodge Brothers Inc. to develop their own line of automobiles. They began building
motor trucks for the
United States military during the arms buildup for
World War I and in October of 1917 they produced their first commercial car. At war's end, their company produced and marketed both cars and trucks.
Because of his temper and often crude behavior, John Dodge was seen as socially unacceptable to most of the well-heeled elite of Detroit. Nevertheless, his wealth made him an influential member of the community and he became active in
Republican Party politics in Michigan.
In 1919, Henry Ford bought out the Dodge brothers shareholdings in Ford Motor Company for $9 million. In 1920, John Dodge died from the flu just as the
Great Flu Epidemic was coming to an end. He was interred in the family mausoleum in Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery.
His brother Horace died the following December and in 1925 their widows sold the Dodge Brothers automobile business to
Dillon, Read investment bankers for $146 million.
In 1957, his widow donated their 1,500-acre Meadow Brook Farm, including
Meadow Brook Hall, Sunset Terrace and all its other buildings and collections, along with $2 million to the
Michigan State University. The property today is home to
Oakland University.
