Antique cars touring area this week with stops in Blackwater, Arrow Rock

Lewis Miller, descendant of Henry Mitchell, who founded Mitchell Motor Car Company in 1903, sits inside a vintage 1911 Mitchell. Collectors of Mitchell cars will have them on display in Blackwater and Arrow Rock Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26 and 27.
(Contributed photo)

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Mitchell cars from Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, New Jersey and Toronto, Ontario, will be touring the countryside here, and there will be three opportunities for the general public to view the cars in Boonville on Friday, Sept. 26, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the corner of Main and Morgan Streets; in Blackwater on Friday, from 3:30 to 5 p.m.; and in Arrow Rock on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 12:30 to 4 p.m.

The Mitchell automobile was manufactured in Racine, Wis., from 1903 to 1923, but the firm actually had its roots in 1834 Chicago when Henry Mitchell emigrated from Scotland with his wagon-maker's tools and set up a shop in what was then called Fort Dearborn.

By 1855, Mitchell had moved from Chicago to Kenosha to Racine, and taken his son-in-law into the company as a partner.

Mitchell Lewis and Co. manufactured wagons of all types until early in the twentieth century, with side ventures into bicycles, motorcycles and automobiles.

The Mitchell Motor Car Company began simply in 1903 with eighteen automobiles, lightweight "motorettes."

By 1910, it was the largest privately-owned company in Wisconsin, capitalized at $10 million with over 2,800 employees, and by 1913, the company had expanded to cover 75 acres and employ over 10,000 people.

Sales peaked in 1916 with 10,000 units, the same year the Mitchell/Lewis family sold its interest in the company to investors in Chicago and New York.

The year 1917 marked the beginning of the decline in Mitchell popularity, and by 1923, the company had joined the many other automobile manufacturers that failed to survive the intense competition following World War I.

Today, just over 160 Mitchells are known to exist, with less than 100 of these in running condition.

The Mitchell Car Club, formed in 2003 for the 100th anniversary of the company, has met in Wisconsin, Washington, Michigan and California.

This year Lewis Miller of Boonville, third-great-grandson of Henry Mitchell, is hosting the club meeting in central Missouri.

For more information, contact Lewis Miller at 660-882-3130.