Henderson history: Delker company had city's first gas engine

A Henderson factory with roots in the 1850s was going on the auction block in 1974 after having spent half its lifespan building horse-drawn vehicles and the second half crafting fine furniture.

But founder George Delker could have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Henry Ford had he only realized the power hidden in his blacksmith shop – a power that would spell doom for the buggy business.

You’ve probably heard of the firm. Delker Bros. Manufacturing Co. operated here for decades and once was one of the community’s largest employers. The Gleaner of July 31, 1974, reported the business had liquidated its personal property and was getting ready to auction the real estate Aug. 20.

But here’s the part you probably don’t know.

Richard Stites, in Francele Armstrong’s column of Aug. 21, 1955, pointed out the original Delker buggy factory at 126 N. Elm St. used what was Henderson's first internal combustion engine.

“Building buggies at that time was largely by hand, very little power being required, so to fill their power requirements they installed a gas engine, using illuminating gas from the city system. It was the first gas engine of any kind to come to Henderson.”

An Aug. 24, 1882, article in the Henderson Weekly Reporter confirms that:

“On the first floor in the extreme rear of the main building is the blacksmith shop, containing six forges and a 10-horsepower, gas-burning engine.” (In comparison, Ford didn’t build his first internal combustion engine until December 1893.)

That same 1882 article says the factory employed about 40 men and boys in 1882.

Delker had been in the manufacture and repair business since at least early 1865, but the factory to turn out phaetons had been in operation only four months, the 1882 article said. It had already shipped about 200 vehicles to such places as North Carolina and Kansas.

Volume was key, Delker replied, when asked how he could sell quality merchandise for so little money. “While $10 profit on one buggy or phaeton – or $10 each on 100 – would be but a small business for a large establishment, yet on 1,000 vehicles it amounts to $10,000, and is therefore a very pretty business.”

But let’s start at the beginning. For years I found it difficult to untangle the various companies the Delker family operated until I ran across an April 12, 1909, article in the Henderson Daily Journal. It provides the clearest explanation I’ve yet read but I had to supplement it with deeds and census information.

John H. Lambert is listed as a blacksmith in the 1860 census, which shows he had several men living with him who assisted making carriages and wagons.

For $420, Delker leased the business at the beginning of 1866 from John Lambert’s widow, Sarah, and partnered with former employee C.L. Blondin, although Blondin died Aug. 24, 1877. They set up shop at 126 N. Elm St.

Delker “brought to Henderson many skilled mechanics from other cities,” according to the 1909 Journal article. On Oct. 5, 1875, the city of Henderson contracted with Delker & Blondin to build its first horse-drawn wagon, according to E.L. Starling’s History of Henderson County. The price was $375.

According to the Henderson Weekly Reporter of Dec. 23, 1880, Delker received a patent to build a new type of carriage, which had higher front wheels, a lower body, and better suspension than regular phaetons. Delker and several others incorporated a company to manufacture the phaeton, according to the Reporter of Dec. 29, 1881.

The business underwent a couple of different names, but Delker established the business in 1885 under the name of Geo. Delker Co. and it was incorporated in 1887.

A Gleaner reporter visiting the plant in 1898 wrote:

“Everything works like clockwork. Every workman has his place and has his particular kind of work to do. From rough wood the building of a vehicle begins in one end of the plant and comes out ready for shipment from the other end.

“The capacity of the plant is about 25 vehicles per day, which includes buggies, surreys, and wagons and traps of the latest and most expensive patterns.”

The company started out selling to the local trade but by the end of the 1800s it was concentrating on wholesale markets.

George Delker died in 1891 and his three sons – John, Frank and Alfred − and five daughters – Kate, Mary, Agnes, Anna and Laura – each inherited an interest, although the sons each owned twice as much stock as any daughter.

In 1902 the company assumed its final name of Delker Bros. Manufacturing Co. The company outgrew its Elm Street location and in 1904 moved into the Robards Tobacco Co. factory building at the corner of First and Green.

John Delker withdrew from the new company in 1903 and set up shop next door as the Park Carriage Co. although the main Delker company later expanded into that space.

The automobile age killed the market for buggies. The family began experimenting with making furniture as early as 1921 and about that time toyed with the idea of making gas-powered buggies, which never went into production, according to Francele Armstrong’s column in The Gleaner of Oct. 14, 1951. Horseless buggies were obviously not competitive with the cars produced in 1921.

The Gleaner of Aug. 19, 1923, announced the company was starting to manufacture furniture. It initially built “fine upholstered and overstuffed furniture and also cane living room sets.”

The company stopped making buggies in 1926. At that point the firm was building 65 living room suites every day. The company continued to maintain a buggy repair shop on Second Street until 1930; a 1933 warehouse fire destroyed the company’s stock of buggy parts, putting a final end to the buggy business.

The Great Depression of the 1930s finished off the production of overstuffed and upholstered furniture, Armstrong wrote.

“Since upholstered furniture was more difficult and more expensive to make the company switched during the

Depression to the manufacture of non-upholstered pieces. In 1930 they put out knee-hole desks, bookcases, and novelty furniture. Seven years later they brought out their first solid maple and solid walnut bedroom suites – lines that brought the company much attention and business.”

Frank Delker Jr. told The Gleaner that the company’s greatest accomplishment was crafting 47,000 bunk beds for the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. At its peak, the company employed about 330 and had an annual payroll of about $1 million.

In September 1957 the Chamber of Commerce bestowed its first Distinguished Citizen Award of the year on Frank Delker Sr.

By 1973 Delker Bros. was Henderson’s oldest firm. The Gleaner of Aug. 21, 1974, reported the complex at First and Green streets – which contained four buildings and two acres of property – had been sold to Sam Lambert and James E. Stapp for $125,000.

The buyers were close-mouthed about their plans for the property but noted Baldwin Salvage Co. had offered to raze the four buildings in exchange for the materials they contained.

Demolition came in two stages. As of April 9, 1975, the roof and interiors had been torn down. The remainder of the 78,000-square-foot complex came down in just 15 days in early October 1975.

100 YEARS AGO

Torrents of rain delayed the auction of what is now Ellis Park – along with the auto races scheduled that day − according to The Gleaner of Aug. 2, 1924.

James C. Ellis bought the racetrack for $20,100 that November, but a court voided that sale and Ellis ended up paying $35,000 in 1925. That's about one-tenth of what it cost to build the track. The racetrack did not turn a profit until 1934.

75 YEARS AGO

Two Gleaner stories in early August 1949 illustrated the pent-up demand of local farmers for a grain elevator following the Nov. 1, 1944, fire at the Owensboro Grain Co. elevator.

The first story – on Aug. 2 – reported that Spalding S. Wathen of Owensboro had plans to build a $140,000 grain elevator of concrete and steel before the end of the year. It was to have a daily capacity of 35,000 to 40,000 bushels.

The second story – on Aug. 4 – told of how local farmers were organizing to build their own elevator. “Appointed on the planning committee were G.H. McMurtry, C.B. Smith, J.A. DeKemper, G.W. Allen, Miller Crenshaw, Jesse Brown, Nat Stanley Jr., and J.H. Gentry.

Ellis Grain built a large concrete grain elevator at the end of Fifth Street in 1955. The structure still stands, but the tallest portions were demolished by a 1988 grain dust explosion. The facility is now known as Owensboro Grain.

25 YEARS AGO

A fallen tree limb left about 400 Henderson homes without air conditioning for about two hours on the hottest day of the year, according to The Gleaner of July 30, 1999.

Employees of a tree-trimming service were at work at 113 Dixon St. when a limb fell on a power line.

“The next thing employees in the courthouse, city building, police station, fire headquarters, and anyone in residential areas to the east and south knew, they were in the dark with no air conditioning running. Many were also without phones.”

Readers of The Gleaner can reach Frank Boyett at YesNews42@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Henderson history: Delker company had city's first gas engine