Reo Motor Company

The photo above shows two early models of the Reo Motor Company. Archives of Michigan staff have been unable to identify the garage or the individuals depicted. If anyone has information on this photo, they are encouraged to contact the Archives of Michigan (Phone: (517) 373-1408. E-mail: archives@michigan.gov).

In 1903, Ransom Eli Olds left Oldsmobile, the company that bore his name. Disagreements with financial backers prompted his decision. He then immediately embarked upon a new entrepreneurial endeavor. Olds couldn't use his name for his new company, so instead he used his initials: REO.

Olds set up his new Reo plant on Lansing's South Washington Avenue. The first cars rolled out of the factory by the end of 1904. Reo cars soon surpassed Oldsmobiles in popularity. In 1910, Reo purchased Lansing's now-idle Bement and Sons factory, where agricultural implements were once produced. At this new property (located at Grand Avenue and Ionia Street), Reo would manufacture trucks, the product for which it was to be most associated.

The Reo Motor Company continued to do well into the 1920's. Then, came the Great Depression. Reo struggled during the hard times and finally ended car production in 1936. It continued to produce trucks, and defense contracts brought new life during World War II and the Cold War. Reo never recaptured the prosperity of its glory days, however. In 1967, it merged with Diamond T Trucks, becoming "Diamond Reo." Eight years later, in 1975, Diamond Reo declared bankrupty, and the company was no more.

Lisa M. Fine's The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin and Community in Autotown, USA (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) was a prime source for this article. The Library of Michigan selected this work for its 2005 notable book list. (Click Notable Books to access the Michigan Notable Books List for this and previous years.) In the course of her research, Fine consulted Archives of Michigan sources, including photographs and Lansing Chamber of Commerce records.

The Michigan State Historical Preservation Office placed a historical marker on the site of the Reo Motor Company plant. Details on this and other Michigan historical markers can be found in the book Traveling Through Time: A Guide to Michigan's Historical Markers by Laura Rose Ashlee. Click Traveling Through Time for more information on this book. Click Michigan Historic Sites Online to search the State Historical Preservation Office's inventory of Michigan historic sites.

-Bob Garrett
E-mail: garrettr1@michigan.gov

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Archives of Michigan
Michigan Library and Historical Center
702 W. Kalamazoo Street
Lansing, MI 48913
Phone: (517) 373-1408
E-mail: archives@michigan.gov

Updated 08/04/2006

Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries
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