LANSING POLICE DEPARTMENT HISTORICAL WEB SITE
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LANSING POLICE DEPARTMENT HISTORICAL WEB SITE
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RANSOM ELI OLDS –THE AUTOMOBILE Ransom E. Olds came to Lansing in 1880 and worked at his father’s engine shop during the day and developed one of the first horseless carriages at night. By 1897, Olds had started his own automobile factory in Lansing, but was soon persuaded to move the auto factory to Detroit. After that factory was destroyed by fire in 1901, the Lansing Businessmen’s Association influenced Olds to return to Lansing. R.E. Olds built an automobile factory south of Main St. and within three years Lansing became the leader in the American automobile industry. Many other businesses were opened to accommodate the factory and its workers. In 1904, R.E. Olds disassociated himself from the Oldsmobile company and within 10 months opened a second auto company in south Lansing which became the REO Car & Truck Company. In 1907, R.E. Olds met President Theodore Roosevelt at the train station, and drove him to the capitol and then to the 50th anniversary celebration of Michigan Agricultural College in a REO. Previously, President Roosevelt had not wanted to “ride in those noisy contraptions.”
President Teddy Roosevelt and R.E. Olds in a REO-1907.
Parade in Lansing –circa 1906 In 1909, R.E. Olds loaned to LPD “The Black Maria,” (mer-ay-a--slang for patrol wagon) making Lansing one of the first to have a motorized police dept. The automobile would change police work throughout the country. Two officers were appointed as “drivers” of the vehicle, and in its first two years of service they assisted in 722 arrests, responded to 233 accidents and 114 fires, used the Black Maria as an ambulance (until 1950), drove over 5,503 miles using 2,000 gallons of gasoline and one set of balloon tires at a cost of $839. By 1911, the traffic service included an Indian brand motorcycle equipped with a push button speedometer.
Lansing Police Department motorized patrol- 1912 Back to The First 100 Years Forward to Police Benevolent Association |
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