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When you think about the beginnings of motorized vehicles, your mind (if you are a car aficionado) goes to people like Ford, Duesenberg, Daimler, Benz, and too many others to list. And, moving past the most simple people-mover, what about a truck to take the place of that ox, mule, or horse-drawn cart to move cargo from one place to another?
There are plenty of trucks and truck dealers in north Texas and southern Oklahoma; take a drive along Interstate 44 and you see plenty.
However, did you know for a few heady years, Wichita Falls was known for more than the falls; it was known for Wichita Truck. And also, did you know a woman may have been involved in the organization of the company?
Organized in 1911, the Wichita Falls Motor Company built heavy-duty trucks for the oil field and logging industry.
Known for their durability, contracts came from the military and fire departments. The company took the slogan, “the sun never sets on a Wichita Truck,” thanks to the worldwide sales of the truck during and following World War I.
The trucks, assembled from parts from other manufacturers, rolled out of the building at an average of two per day. During peak production during World War I, the plant employed 100 people and employed security to prevent sabotage. The company also produced a 20-person bus and, in the early 20s, in an attempt to replace lost truck production, the “Wichita Combination Car.”
Ultimately, over 10,000 were sold before the company succumbed to the ravages of canceled orders after World War I and the Great Depression. Despite efforts from a San Antonio businessman, the sun sat on the Wichita Falls Motor Company in 1932.
The individuals mentioned in the history of Wichita Truck are also interesting and involve some mystery.
Several references describe Joseph Kemp as the founder of Wichita Falls Motor Company and among the original incorporators Frank Kell, J.W. Culbertson, and J.C. Ward among others.
As mentioned in some references, Charles A. McKiernans (McKeenon according to Louise Kelly) held several patents related to steering and “unit control of spark, throttle, clutch, and transmission.” This “unit” put control of all four mechanisms in a lever on the steering column, different from other vehicles of the time. McKiernans allegedly sold these patents to Kemp, etal, for $80,000 in company stock and was involved in early marketing of the vehicle. After a subsequent mentions, McKiernans disappears from the story.
And finally, the mystery woman of the story, Nettie Certain McIntyre, appears in two Wichita Truck references. Described as the organizer and director in the development of the company, Nettie came to Wichita Falls from Colorado on business. Meeting McKiernans in the early 1910s and believing the “unit” applicable to trucks, she allegedly solicited the support of Kemp and Kell in the project. From that point, Nettie, too, disappears from the Wichita Truck story.
However, in the mid-1920s, Nettie appears again as an oil operator in West Texas. Articles described her as a “well-known woman operator” in the oil fields near Anson, Texas.
The Wichita Truck story stands as part of Wichita Falls history. And finding that a woman might have been the “mover and shaker” who brought the company to life, certainly deserves more investigation.
Photo of logo courtesy of https://classic.txtransportationmuseum.org/history...
Photo of truck with people from New Zealand: History & Natural History, https://www.facebook.com/.../the.../1476083535907184/
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