Newark's Mora Motor Car Co.

History - Newark

Newark's Mora Motor Car Co. - 1905
By John Zornow

As early as October 1905, a group of public-spirited Newark businessmen, all members of the Newark Board of Trade, had made contact with Mr. Samuel Hancock Mora in Rochester.

Mora was looking for a building, and even more importantly, a community to support his venture, that of building motor cars. One of members of the Board of Trade , Thomas W. Martin, had a building for rent, the former Reed Manufacturing Co. plant on the east end of Seigrist Street. The Reed Company, manufacturers of tin ware and enamelware, had vacated the wooden building in 1903 to move just west into their huge brick plant that still stands today as a warehouse owned by Graybill Enterprises.

In Rochester, S.H. Mora had left the employ of the Eastman Kodak Co. after nearly 13 years, having risen to head of sales. (Mora apparently left Kodak in good graces, because George Eastman would later own several Mora automobiles.)

Mora and William H. (Billy) Birdsall were working on the automobile project, with their headquarters being the Livingston Building in downtown Rochester. Birdsall was no stranger to the fledgling motorcar business. In 1902 he designed the Buckmobile as venture of the Syracuse Automobile Co. and soon after was the mechanical mind behind the Regas automobile, built in Rochester and financed by Thomas Byron Dunn, who had made his fortune in the candy business. Dunns Sen-Sen mints were in every child's pocket, as well as the pockets of men trying to hide their smoking habits. Billy Birdsall had designed a nice little four-cylinder car for T.B. Dunn, who eventually lost interest in the motorcar business. We must assume that Birdsall and Mora got acquainted in Rochester.

S.H. Mora Comes to Newark- The Mora Motor Car Company was incorporated in Newark in March of 1906. By July, a crew of 35 men were building 4-5 cars a week, and S.H. Mora was selling more than that amount. A backlog developed and it was clear that the old wooden frame building would not work. That building is long gone and the site is a now parking lot for I.E.C. Electronics Research and conversations with old timers indicate that a foundry jointly owned by the Bloomer Bros. Co. and H.R. Inman, was used to make engine castings for the cars. This building is now the Spinco Corp.

Stockholders in the newly formed company were S.H. Mora, William N. Freeman of Eastman Kodak, William H. Birdsall, and George S. Whitney of Akron, Ohio, possibly related to Mora, who had originally lived in Cleveland, Ohio.

The vehicles made in the Seigrist Street plant in 1906 and 1907 were a roadster and touring car, with wheelbases of 98 and 103. The single offering in the engine department was a four cylinder 28 h.p. watercooled version. These cars sold for $2000 to $2500. To put this into prospective, the average worker made 5 to 10 cents an hour for a 6 day week, and clearly could not afford to buy any car at all. The automobile was a plaything for the wealthy, and according to many observers, it would stay that way. In and near Detroit, many new makes of motor cars were introduced in 1906, including Aerocar, Jewell, Thomas Detroit, Mason, Hewitt. Oldsmobile was number one in sales for the year with 6,550 sold.

The lack of a middle class in Newark, New York in 1907 drew a clearly defined line as to who would be driving an automobile. Newark was a very progressive village, and had many industries and businesses. There were several automobile owners in the village and several auto dealers, including the H.R. Drake Buick-Reo sales agency, later Scofield Garage, now Americas Furniture, 226 East Union St. The auto soon became a status symbol, and driving clubs were formed.

S.H. Mora's business prospered and he continued to live in Rochester but commuted to Newark on the new Rochester Syracuse & Eastern electric trolley. He also stayed many evenings at the Gardenier Hotel, corner of East Avenue and East Union Street. It is not known where Billy Birdsall lived but records show that Mora purchased a building lot on the Bailey tract, south-east corner of East Maple Avenue and East Avenue. The house that stands on that lot now is owned by the Paul Salisbury family.

The Browniekar - A small but colorful part of the Mora story is the Browniekar. A child's car or cycle car. Equipped with a one cylinder 3.5 horsepower engine, it would go 10 miles an hour, enough for any child.

Advertising indicated that The boy or girl who drives a Browniekar will obtain, by practical experience, a knowledge of things mechanical, construction, carberation, ignition and operation of gas engines that he or she would not be liable to obtain from books. Its most comfortably arranged and sufficiently racy to thrill the hearts of all juvenile auto aspirants. At a price of $150, or $175 for custom colors, it was clearly a toy for the children of the wealthy. Initially, the little car was made by a division of Mora called the Child's Automobile Co., later changed to the Omar Motor Car Co. a clever touch, Omar being an anagram of Mora. One very lucky owner was vaudeville and MGM child star Buster Keaton, who drove a Browniekar at the age of 13. Keaton's family was far from poor, and lived in an Italian Villa in Los Angeles. Historians differ on Mora's choice of Browniekar for the name. Some feel that it was named after cartoon character Buster Brown, but the most plausible answer indicates that Mora simply latched on to the notoriety of George Eastman's Brownie camera, which would define amateur photography for 70 years. Actually, the Brownie Camera was named after the Brownies, little folk cartoon characters of the time, and the sort of Poke-mon of that time period. The small car was manufactured for a couple of years, and today only a couple are known to exist. A 1908 Browniekar is on display at the Newark-Arcadia Museum, 120 High Street, as part of the year long transportation exhibit: Wings, Wheels, and Water- On The Way to Grandmothers House.

A re-organization and a new plant -

The successes of 1906 brought hope for the future, and plans for a new building. Mora went to the community for help in the form of a stock issue in the amount of $750,000. Newark men who were major investors were given board seats. They included Thomas W. Martin, former President of the Reed Company, and Newark businessmen Charles Crothers, Frank Garlock, and Abram Garlock. In 1905, T.W. Martin had built the house at 509 East Avenue, later owned by R.A.S. Bloomer, Dr. James Palmeri, and now owned by Dr. Fred Zugibe. The Martin children had a Browniekar and ran it up and down East Avenue, which was a dirt road.

Thanks to the success of the stock offering, a new plant was under construction on Hoffman Street. It was an impressive two story structure, with plenty of room to expand, and was located on a railroad siding. (The Northern Central Railroad) There were no car transport trucks then, nor were there roads capable of handling such trucks. By early 1908, the company moved to the new Hoffman Street factory with over 200 men working 24 hours a day, six days a week producing hundreds of cars in a assembly line style set-up. One strange feature was that finished cars would be end up on the second floor. Research also reveals that there was no foundry included at the new plant, which included a test house and office building. The plant is now the factory for the Hallagan Manufacturing Company, a producer of high-end upholstered furniture.

Collectors of antique automobile literature will notice that early Mora advertisements list several addresses on Mora Place. This was an early attempt to track advertising results by identifying which magazine or newspaper the client had read. (For many years, Newark's Jackson & Perkins Co. listed several addresses on a fictitious Rose Lane in the same manner.)

The year 1908 was an important time in the automotive industry. Several new makes were introduced, and many failed. William Crapo Durant, producing Cadillacs and later adding Buick, Oldsmobile and Oakland, formed General Motors Company. The Model T Ford was introduced as a 1909 model. Cadillac won recognition for its interchangeability of parts. 63,500 passenger cars were built and 1,500 trucks and buses. Most importantly, the first rural mile of concrete highway in the United States was laid down near Detroit.

With a new Mora factory in operation, Billy Birdsall designed a six-cylinder, all ball bearing engine. The chassis was lengthened to 115 to accommodate the new six. Prices for Mora vehicles were $3,500 for the racy-type, and $3,600 for the five passenger tourer. At considerable expense, Birdsall set upon developing a 60 horsepower four cylinder engine that introduced in 1909.

Ever the salesman, S.H. Mora joined every automobile association that could help his business, including the groups that were promoting better roads. By 1910 Mora advertised that their car would compare with any other automobile built costing even $4000, and they were prepared to prove it. A 1910 Mora car was driven 9000 miles over all kinds of roads with out opening the hood. This was heralded at a Worlds Record Sealed Bonnet Tour the bonnet being the term for hood.

This achievement was highly touted by the company at auto shows, and advertised as the Worlds record Sealed Bonnet Hero.

Troubles Ahead - Quality problems, a cash crunch, wet spring weather, and anxious creditors spelled trouble for Mora. Birdsall was not a salesman, or a numbers man, and Mora was not an engineer. What was needed was someone to tie it all together. That did not happen. As early as September of 1909, the failure of the entire production of piston rings caused Mora to curtail deliveries of cars. There was no way that a car would be shipped unless perfect. Suppliers were not happy. In a letter to parts supplier, the Rome-Turney Radiator Company, in Rome, New York, S.H. Mora personally asked for their patience and understanding. But, it was the small companies that could not afford to wait for payment. As a result, on July 16, 1910, the company was forced into receivership. The plant continued to operate under court supervision until November 1910, when the Frank Toomey Co. of Philadelphia, bought the building and contents for $65,000. S.H. Mora and Billy Birdsall were gone.

The Frank Toomey Co. of Philadelphia was involved in the machine business there and apparently had the means to purchase the Mora works at a bargain price. They produced Mora cars for about a year using parts on hand as well as from the normal suppliers. A copy of Who's Who in Autos published in 1913, and owned by Karl S. Kabeloc of Rochester, lists all automobile owners and dealers in the surrounding 7 county area. Included were all owners of Moras. One car listed was a Toomey. Did the new company plan to market a vehicle in their own name? Nonetheless, by August 1911, it was announced in the Arcadian Weekly Gazette that Frank Toomey and Co., owners of the Mora factory, have decided to discontinue business and offer the entire plant, including stock and machinery for sale at public auction. Newark's second chance to keep their automobile factory was gone.

The Board of Trade Steps in Again- Arthur N. Christy, a C.W. Stuart executive and secretary of the Board of Trade, reported at a meeting in February of 1912, that a furniture company of Syracuse had been interested in the plant, but the Toomey company had refused the offer. Other prospects were a steam engine company, and a machinery company. The furniture company, The Canastota Couch Co. of Canastota, New York, near Syracuse, in business since 1900, was waiting very patiently in the wings. The former Mora plant was perfect for them and needed nothing, except a kiln to dry frame wood. On April 19, 1913, it was announced, that a deal had been struck with Simon E. Hallagan, and Freedus E. Thompson, owners of the Canastota Couch Co. to purchase the Hoffman St. plant and move their entire operation to Newark. Today, the Hallagan Manufacturing Company operates on Hoffman Street, in the same plant, under the management of the fourth generation of the Hallagan family. Once again the Newark Board of Trade had put a deal together. This time it was to last for many, many years and has provided goods jobs in Newark for generations. In charge of negotiations back in 1913 were Newark businessmen L.G. Mattison, George W. Muth, and Peter R. Sleight.

What happened with the Mora? Were the seeds of failure already in place, when S.H. Mora and Billy Birdsall misjudged the market and how fast the popularity of the automobile would grow with the common man? As with modern technology, such as VCRs, DVD players, the PC, and digital cameras, the sooner that you get the product refined, and in the hands of the masses, the more successful it will be. George Eastman had the formula in 1900 with the Brownie Camera, Henry Ford got it right in 1909 with the Model T. Had Mora produced a car that was affordable for the working man, thinks might have turned out differently.

Mora and Birdsall head for Cleveland. Undaunted by their failure in Newark, S.H. Mora and Billy Birdsall established the Mora Power Wagon in Cleveland, Ohio, where S.H. had originally come from. That truck line lasted until 1914, and also became a part of Americas great transportation history. Samuel Hancock Mora died by his own hand on March 7, 1918, and is buried next to his mother, Grace Marie Mora at Riverside Cemetery in Rochester. Three new vehicles were introduced in 1918. They were the Cleveland, the DuPont, and the Briggs & Stratton Flyer, and they all failed, while Ford sold 435,898 cars, almost all black, and well under $1000 each.

The automobile, which Americans had grown to love, had become as much a part of their lives as eating, sleeping, education, and working. It is now an urgent necessity, rather than a luxury.

Research acknowledgments: The Arcadian Weekly Gazette, The Courier Gazette, Drumlins Magazine, Cars Made in Upstate New York, by James Bellamy, The Newark-Arcadia Historical Society archives.

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