Prelude to Flight

Part 3 of American Inspiration, Agriculture and Sports?

Cities of Production and Cities of Ideas

Long Island: From Automobiles to Aircraft?

"History is the only education. All the rest is just training." - Brent Staples?

The 'Only'

Some partseExcerpted from Walter McCarthy Archives: Many Americans are aware of Long Island as the place of origin of Lindberg's trans-Atlantic flight. Many are also aware that the LEM, the lunar module, was developed on Long Island. Some are aware of the critical role played by Republic Aviation and Grumman during WWII. Some Long Islanders who are familiar with Long Island's automotive history, know about the extensive early racing on the island in the form of the Vanderbilt Cup Races- no, not the America’s Cup yacht races:?

but of the auto endurance races and hill climbs in various villages of the Island:

Fewer still are aware?of the Port Jefferson auto manufacturing history.?

It takes a Village?

There were not one, but 3 little-known automobiles built in Port Jefferson - in the 1910's.

The French Connection?

French engineer, Maurice Richard, had hopes of selling his one-cylinder automobile in the United States:

Emigrating from France, he settled in?Port Jefferson, NY in 1909, and rented a large factory space in Port Jefferson - just west of?the railroad station.

Racing to the Future

The 12hp 'one-lunger' race car, known as the 'Only' was so named due to it having 'only' one cylinder. While no match for Henry Ford and?his car (Model T)?:

and other multi-cylinder cars, the crowd favorite 'Only' did manage to hold its own in the 1910 Port Jefferson Hill Climb, when it came in 10th:?

Interior factory photo where the Only was built:

The Only, was described in the?Motor News?of the time, as "having no chance against 4-cylinder cars." This contention motivated Richard to build his own 4-cylider automobile. In 1914, he introduced the gentleman's sporty roadster, The Metropole:

Slow sales and little interest forced Richard to abandon Port Jefferson for Cleveland where he did build other cars - with little success.

Also Built?

While Richard was building the Only at the front of the factory, the back had Carl Peters quietly building his 3-wheeled delivery van called the Maxim TriCar:?

Designed by a likely German relative named George Peters and Frenchman Maxim Karminski in Connecticut, Carl Peters' TriCar had an 8hp, 2-cylinder motor mounted on the front wheel with steering performed by use of a tiller. The delivery van sold for $425 and had minor success.

When Maurice Richard sold the factory to Finley Robertson Porter in 1915, Peters and the Maxim left the factory also with some speculating he?relocated?to Philadelphia.

Also built?nearer to Port Jefferson Harbor were ferries:

The village no longer produces either cars or ferries. It is now a village of dining and entertainment.?

The Finley Robertson Porter

From the Hill Climb to the Indy 500

Produced in Jefferson was another unique and eponymous car known as the?Finley Robertson Porter, the F.R.P:?

The Finley Robertson Porter and the F.R.P.

Belle Terre, Port Jefferson resident, Finley Robertson Porter (1871-1964) was an engineer at Mercer Co. He was responsible for the 1913 'T' head Raceabout:

When a German engineer was hired by Mercer the following year and the Mercer Co. moved to an 'L' head machine, an insulted Porter left Mercer intent on building his own car.

-At the Time: FRP v. Ford Strategies

Contrary to Henry Ford's strategy of building affordable automobiles:

for the masses, Porter aspired to build the absolute finest car anywhere at?the time - price no object:

At that time, the British Rolls Royce:?

and?the American Pierce-Arrow:?

were considered?to be the finest cars built. The Pierce-Arrow sported the very high price tag of about $7500 as did the Rolls. Porter's new F.R.P. cars were priced at $5000 for the chassis alone, with various coachwork bodies costing an additional $3000-5000. The FRP featured such innovations as being the first production car with 4 valves per cylinder and an overhead camshaft. With a higher price tag than a Rolls or Pierce-Arrow, sales during the more financially depressed times:

meant slow sales for the F.R.P.

Dénouement?

With only about 35 F.R.P. cars built from 1916-17, the U.S. Government took over the F.R.P. factory for the war effort. After the war, the American & British Manufacturing Co. bought up the F.R.P. company from Porter, rebadged the unchanged F.R.P. as the 'Porter Automobile' and moved the entire production across the Sound to Bridgeport, Connecticut - very close to the Locomobile facility.

Finley Robertson Porter moved on to aviation at Curtiss Engineering in Garden City Long Island in the 1920's.

Continued?