In its earliest days, the landscape of the auto industry was dotted with dozens of companies, many in Cleveland (32, as counted in 1909) and many of which had branched out from other industries.
So it was with Winton.
Namesake and founder Alexander Winton, a Scottish immigrant, came to Cleveland in 1884 and started a bicycle manufacturing company in 1891.
From there he branched into the auto industry, forming the Winton Motor Carriage Co. in 1897, which sold its first car — believed to be the first auto sale in America — a year later.
Also in 1898, a young tinkerer from Detroit came to Cleveland seeking a job with Winton, but Henry Ford was sent away.
He would become an even more influential figure in the auto industry than Winton — and ultimately seal the car company’s doom.
Winton was one of the largest auto manufacturers in America by 1905, but their hand-built cars were no match for Ford’s assembly line, and the company stopped making cars in 1924.
“He’s an unknown figure now, but he did have a major impact on many people through his work in the auto industry, and when the auto industry was in Cleveland, he was a major player,” says Rini Paiva, executive vice president for selection and recognition at the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Even if Alexander Winton faded into obscurity, his name still lives on.
There’s the former Winton Hotel downtown and Winton Avenue in Lakewood, where he used to live. In fact, his former estate, Roseneath, is now the site of a Gold Coast condominium tower. It’s called Winton Place.
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