Flint Road Cart Factory/Durant-Dort Carriage Factory No. 1
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S5280ft
N 43° 01.039 W 083° 41.724
17T E 280358 N 4766263
Located on the south side of Water Street between Mason and Lyon Streets. Parking available across Water Street.
Waymark Code: WM11CF
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 12/12/2006
Views: 24
FLINT ROAD CART FACTORY
This one-story mill was built in the early 1880s as part of an unsuccessful effort to diversify the Flint Woolen Mills. In 1886, J. Dallas Dort and Billy Durant began leasing it to manufacture road carts. By the end of its first year of operation, their Flint Road Cart Company had produced 4,000 vehicles. The company later expanded to produce four-wheeled carriages, wagons, and, for a short time, bicycles. The company ceased carriage manufacturing in 1917, and this building and other surrounding factories were converted to the manufacture of the Dort Motor car.
DURANT-DORT CARRIAGE FACTORY NO. 1
Built in 1888 this building exemplifies the dramatic growth of the Flint Road Cart Company, which became the Durant-Dort Carriage Company. During the 1890s Durant-Dort expanded its Blue Ribbon line to include Webster Vehicle farm wagons, the Victoria Vehicle Company's mail-order business and the Diamond Buggy Company. By 1900, Durant-Dort was the largest volume producer of horse-drawn vehicles in the United States. In 1906, its peak year, it employed 1,000 people and produced 50,000 vehicles.
Historical Name: J. Dallas Dort and William "Billy" Durant
Parking nearby?: yes
D/T ratings: 
website: [Web Link]
Registered Site #: Local Site #1395
Historical Date: Not listed
Description: Not listed
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