A few months ago, the Fort
MacArthur Museum association started down the road of a new
and exciting project. the purchase and delivery of a vehicle
that may truly be the last of it's kind anywhere.
The Dodge Brothers built the first automobile with their
name on it in 1914 as a 1915 model. Previously the brothers
had built all the mechanical parts for the first 500,000
Ford Model T cars. The Dodge Brothers were well known and
highly respected in the automotive industry because of the
work they had done for Ford, Oldsmobile, and other leading
auto manufacturers.
Late in World War I when the government asked they readily
agreed to supply almost 1,100 half-ton chassis light repair
trucks. Dodge Brothers would not begin producing pickup
trucks for the civilian market until 1924.
As far as we are aware, Of the approximately 1,100 Light
Repair Trucks produced by the Dodge Brothers in 1918, there
is only one example that is known to still be road worthy
today. That truck is now in the collection of the Fort
MacArthur Museum Association.
The Dodge Brothers Truck is nearly identical in appearance
to the Cadillac trucks used by the fort in it's earliest
days. |
1918 Dodge Brothers US Army
Light Repair Truck
Now in the museum collection |
1924 Dodge Brothers Civilian
Light Pickup Truck |
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