Winthrop Harbor the Detroit of Lake Co.?
For a short period of time, Winthrop Harbor was the home of a major truck manufacturer, the Winther Motor and Truck Company. The factory was located east of Sheridan Road on the north side of Main Street, about 300 feet east of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
In 1917, Martin P. Winther of Kenosha, Wis., organized the Winther Truck Company. Winther was an engineer with the Jeffery Company, makers of autos and trucks in Kenosha. The previous year, the Jeffery Company had been sold to Charles Nash, who discontinued the manufacture of trucks, which was Winther's primary interest.
After Winther's departure from the company, he purchased a vacant factory in Winthrop Harbor. The similarity of the name Winther to Winthrop Harbor is a coincidence. The village was named for the Winthrop Harbor and Dock Company in 1894.
By the end of 1917, the Winther Motor and Truck Company offered several models, ranging from one to seven tons, and priced from $2,750 to $4,600. The two-wheel drive trucks carried the name Winther, while the four-wheel drive versions went under the name Winther-Marwin.
The United States' entrance into World War I created a huge demand for trucks. In 1918, the U.S. Army contracted with Winther to build trucks for the war effort and mobile clam shell derricks for excavating. Winther quickly came up with the derrick design for use on his trucks. The company also secured a contract with the U.S. Navy. To meet the wartime demand, a second factory was constructed in Kenosha. However, when the war ended Nov. 11, 1918, the military contracts dried up, and the U.S. market was flooded with used military vehicles. It was a difficult climate to sell Winther trucks and the company ran into financial problems.
In 1921, the company reorganized as Winther Motors and established an automobile line. Only 400 Winther cars were sold for about $2,300 each, and the company discontinued manufacturing them. The car division was sold to the U.S. Tractor Company of Menasha, Wis.
On April 9, 1923, a judge settled Winther's debts by ordering the company to grant title to its Winthrop Harbor plant to McVicker Railclamp Tieplate Company for payments due. This act closed Winther trucks for good.
Today, Winther Trucks are very collectible, selling at recent auctions for $30,000. The site of the Winther Truck Company is now part of Spring Bluff Forest Preserve. The only evidence of the manufacturing plant is an old railroad embankment and concrete foundation remnants.