News
Motive Power
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| The massive 1949 Hudson was no stranger to Cochise County roads. (PHOTO COURTESY/San Pedro Valley News) |
By W. Lane Rogers/for the Range News
When physician James N. Morrison imported Benson's first automobile in 1910-a bright red two-seater powered by a 24-horse power motor-the automotive craze was sweeping the country. Still, years would pass before gasoline supplanted hay as the chief source of motive fuel, especially in rural areas.
In 1915, Sam Holman and H.C. Kimball opened the Benson Garage and Auto Company on Fifth Street near Patagonia. The Benson Signal noted that the garage would "repair cars, carry auto tires and accessories, and be agent for Overland" automobiles.
It may have been the town's first automobile dealership.
During World War I, the Bradley brothers opened a new enterprise on Fourth Street between Huachuca and Patagonia. As one brother shoed horses, the other repaired autos.
Men named Holloway and Weigand had a similar arrangement on Fifth Street near San Pedro. Weigand was a blacksmith, Holloway a mechanic.
By 1918, Sterling B. Moss had erected a building to house his Studebaker agency. While Studebaker continued to manufacture wagons, Moss's agency was exclusive to automobiles.
R.V. Misenheimer sold Henry Ford's wildly successful Model T from a showroom on Fourth Street west of San Pedro. The store outlived the tin lizzy and became a Benson fixture. Competition came from Scherrer's Garage, the town's Chevrolet dealer.
In 1936, Sparks Motor Company opened a Dodge-Plymouth agency in Scherrer's Garage. Apparently, Chevrolet had folded or moved to another location. When the building was razed in 1938, the San Pedro Valley News lamented the loss of a "Benson landmark," but made no mention of Sparks. The franchise may have been sold to Lee Hughes who, in 1940, opened a Dodge-Plymouth store.
Commencing in the late 1930s, Benson Auto Company sold Chevrolets at the southeast corner of Fourth and San Pedro. In 1949, William E. Kazmark opened a short lived Hudson dealership on Fourth Street west of Patagonia. In 1955, two years before the last Hudson rolled off the assembly line, Dale Lopshire opened a Ford agency in the Riverside addition east of the underpass. At his machine shop across the street, George Scott, Sr. sold International trucks.
The Chevy store changed names, owners, and location more than once. Nevertheless Chevrolet maintained a dealer presence in Benson for some 70 years until the 2008 recession spelled its doom.
While the Lopshire name was the first of many, it is no less remarkable that Ford has sold automobiles from the same Benson location for more than 50 years.
In 1915, Sam Holman and H.C. Kimball opened the Benson Garage and Auto Company on Fifth Street near Patagonia. The Benson Signal noted that the garage would "repair cars, carry auto tires and accessories, and be agent for Overland" automobiles.
It may have been the town's first automobile dealership.
During World War I, the Bradley brothers opened a new enterprise on Fourth Street between Huachuca and Patagonia. As one brother shoed horses, the other repaired autos.
Men named Holloway and Weigand had a similar arrangement on Fifth Street near San Pedro. Weigand was a blacksmith, Holloway a mechanic.
By 1918, Sterling B. Moss had erected a building to house his Studebaker agency. While Studebaker continued to manufacture wagons, Moss's agency was exclusive to automobiles.
R.V. Misenheimer sold Henry Ford's wildly successful Model T from a showroom on Fourth Street west of San Pedro. The store outlived the tin lizzy and became a Benson fixture. Competition came from Scherrer's Garage, the town's Chevrolet dealer.
In 1936, Sparks Motor Company opened a Dodge-Plymouth agency in Scherrer's Garage. Apparently, Chevrolet had folded or moved to another location. When the building was razed in 1938, the San Pedro Valley News lamented the loss of a "Benson landmark," but made no mention of Sparks. The franchise may have been sold to Lee Hughes who, in 1940, opened a Dodge-Plymouth store.
Commencing in the late 1930s, Benson Auto Company sold Chevrolets at the southeast corner of Fourth and San Pedro. In 1949, William E. Kazmark opened a short lived Hudson dealership on Fourth Street west of Patagonia. In 1955, two years before the last Hudson rolled off the assembly line, Dale Lopshire opened a Ford agency in the Riverside addition east of the underpass. At his machine shop across the street, George Scott, Sr. sold International trucks.
The Chevy store changed names, owners, and location more than once. Nevertheless Chevrolet maintained a dealer presence in Benson for some 70 years until the 2008 recession spelled its doom.
While the Lopshire name was the first of many, it is no less remarkable that Ford has sold automobiles from the same Benson location for more than 50 years.
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