Colburn Automobile Company

Last updated
Colburn Automobile Company
IndustryAutomobile Manufacturing
Founded1906
FounderJudge E.A. Colburn
Defunct1911
Headquarters
Key people
E.A. Colburn, E.A. Colburn Jr., H.C. Colburn
The Driver is H. C. Colburn, to his left is Judge E.A. Colburn. Notice the Colburn Logo in the window. Colburn Automobile.JPG
The Driver is H. C. Colburn, to his left is Judge E.A. Colburn. Notice the Colburn Logo in the window.

The Colburn Automobile Company was a Brass Era car manufacturer in Denver, Colorado. The company produced cars from 1906-1911. [1] [2] in their factory at 15th Street and Colfax Avenue. [3]

Contents

Colburns were built as a roadster, and later as a touring car (Model 35). They were fashioned after the French Renault with the radiator positioned behind the sloping hood. [4] The Model 30 and Model 40 roadsters were fast with a top speed of 72 miles per hour and often competed in road races and track events around the Denver area. [5] The roadster featured a 4-cylinder, 40HP engine and 4 speed transmission and sold for $4,500.00. A large shiny brass "C" emblazoned the front of the automobiles.

The Colburn Family

Herbert C. Colburn and Ernest A. Colburn Jr. were the sons of Judge Ernest A. Colburn (E.A. Colburn). Judge Ernest was wealthy, having made his fortune as a mine owner in the Cripple Creek, Colorado mining district. [6] He was the financial backer of the automobile while the car itself was designed and built by his sons.

Herbert and Ernest Jr. were inventors and had interests in engineering and technology, and held at least two patents for the design of mining machinery. [7] [8] At one time, the brothers ran the Ajax Mine in Victor, one of the many mines owned by their father. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antique car</span> Automobile classed as an antique

An antique car is an automobile that is an antique. Narrower definitions vary based on how old a car must be to qualify. The Antique Automobile Club of America defines an antique car as over 25 years of age. However, the legal definitions for the purpose of antique vehicle registration vary widely. The antique car era includes the Veteran era, the Brass era, and the Vintage era, which range from the beginning of the automobile up to the 1930s. Later cars are often described as classic cars. In original or originally restored condition antiques are very valuable and are usually either protected and stored or exhibited in car shows but are very rarely driven.

The Adams Company is an American manufacturing concern. It was founded in 1883 and is based in Dubuque, Iowa, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brass Era car</span> American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing

The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915, a time when cars were often referred to as horseless carriages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpena Flyer</span>

The Alpena Flyer was an American automobile manufactured between 1910 and 1914 in Alpena, Michigan by the Alpena Motor Car Company. Approximately 480 cars in 13 models were produced, costing around $1,500, and only one remaining car is known to exist today. The car was intended to be light and inexpensive, and to make Alpena into an "Automobile City".

Northern Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, automobiles designed by Charles Brady King. Early advertising included catchy phrases such as "Utility is the Basis for Beauty" and "Built for Business" and the famous "Silent Northern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the automobile</span>

Crude ideas and designs of automobiles can be traced back to ancient and medieval times. In 1649, Hans Hautsch of Nuremberg built a clockwork-driven carriage. In 1672, a small-scale steam-powered vehicle was created; the first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769. Inventors began to branch out at the start of the 19th century, creating the de Rivaz engine, one of the first internal combustion engines, and an early electric motor. Samuel Brown later tested the first industrially applied internal combustion engine in 1826. Only two of these were made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lozier</span> Dufunct American Automobile company

The Lozier Motor Company was a brass era producer of luxury automobiles in the United States. The company produced automobiles from 1900 to 1918, in Plattsburgh, New York and from 1910, at Detroit, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion (automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Marion was an automobile produced by the Marion Motor Car Company in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1904 to 1915.

Spaulding was used as an automobile marque by two separate companies. The Spaulding Automobile and Motor Company of Buffalo, New York built Veteran Era automobiles in 1902 and 1903. Spaulding Manufacturing Company of Grinnell, Iowa built Brass Era automobiles from 1910 to 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speedwell Motor Car Company</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Speedwell Motor Car Company was a Brass Era American automobile manufacturing company established by Pierce Davies Schenck that produced cars from 1907 to 1914. The Great Dayton Flood of 1913 greatly damaged the Speedwell factory and inventory, and the company entered receivership in 1915 after having built an estimated 4,000 cars and trucks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith Automobile Company</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Smith Automobile Company of Topeka, Kansas, was an early United States automobile manufacturing company which produced the Veracity, Smith, and Great Smith lines of automobiles from 1902 to 1911. They were the first automobiles made west of the Mississippi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moline Automobile Company</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Moline Automobile Company, was an American brass era automobile manufacturer in East Moline, Illinois known for the Moline, Dreadnought Moline,Moline-Knight and R & V Knight marques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selden Motor Vehicle Company</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Selden Motor Vehicle Company was a Brass Era American manufacturer of automobiles. The company, founded in 1906, was based in Rochester, New York, and built automobiles from 1907 to 1914 and trucks from 1913 to 1932.

The Success Automobile Manufacturing Company was a brass era United States automobile manufacturer, located at 532 De Ballviere Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1906.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Model Automobile Company</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Model Automobile Company was a brass era American automobile manufacturer located in Peru, Indiana from 1902 to 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midland Motor Company</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Midland Motor Company was an American brass era automobile manufacturer in Moline, Illinois from 1908 to 1913.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson Automobile Company</span> Former US automobile manufacturer

The Jackson Automobile Company was an American Brass Era automobile manufacturer located in and named for Jackson, Michigan. The company produced the Jackson from 1903 to 1923, the 1903 Jaxon steam car and the 1904 Orlo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitchell (automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Mitchell was a major brass-era automobile marque in Racine, Wisconsin, from 1903 to 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simplex Automobile Company</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Simplex Automobile Company was formed in 1907 to take over the manufacturer of the S & M Simplex. The Simplex was an American luxury Brass Era automobile manufactured from 1907 to 1918. Headquartered with a manufacturing plant in New York City, manufacturing from 1912 was in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The Simplex Crane Model 5 was commonly called Simplex-Crane and Crane-Simplex. The Crane-Simplex Company of Long Island, New York, was an attempt in 1922 to revive the brand but closed after only a few chassis were built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SGV (automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

SGV was a Brass Era American automobile manufacturer that made luxury automobiles using Lancia components, from 1911 to 1916.

References

  1. Automobile Manufacturers Starting With The Letter C
  2. Automotive weekly Feb 26,1912 Page 522
  3. "1911 Denver Business directory". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  4. Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.87
  5. Automotive Industries, Vol 21,Sep. 2,1909, page 413
  6. Men of Note Affiliated with Mining and Mining Interests
  7. Patent 1.415,314
  8. Patent 2,002,000
  9. Colorado Mine Register Vol 14 page 594