How Dayton helped set the foundation for Chrysler’s century of building cars

Chrysler left a lasting mark on American automotive history — but did you know it traces its story back to Dayton? A piece of those roots is on display at Carillon Historical Park.

Maxwell Motor Co.

At Carillon Park, inside the Dayton Sales exhibit, sits a gleaming red 1923 touring sedan. In the early 20th century, auto bodies like this one were built in three Dayton plants employing more than 2,000 workers.

But few could have known that Maxwell Motor Co. was nearing its end, that they were helping lay the foundation for one of America’s greatest automakers.

Founded in 1904, the Maxwell Motor Co. once ranked among America’s top automakers. But by 1920, deep in debt, it turned to Walter P. Chrysler, a former Buick executive, to rescue the company.

Three years later — the same year Carillon Park’s Maxwell was built — Walter Chrysler took control of the company, reinvigorating the brand. That year, 1923, every Maxwell driven in the U.S. had a body built in Dayton, either at Plants 1 and 3 in the old Stoddard Manufacturing Company Building at Bainbridge and Third, or at Plant 2, a 22-acre facility on Leo Street. Still, Maxwell’s days were numbered.

On June 6, 1925, after unveiling his pioneering six-cylinder at the 1924 New York Automobile Show, Walter Chrysler reorganized Maxwell Motor Co. into the Chrysler Corporation.

This Sunday, at the Dayton Concours d’Elegance — and in the back of Dayton Sales — you can trace this legacy and see how Dayton helped shape the company’s earliest years.

Leo DeLuca, a native Daytonian, manages communications for Carillon Historical Park. His writing has appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American, and The New York Times, among other publications.

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