Elwood Haynes
Encyclopedia
Elwood P. Haynes was an American
inventor, metallurgist
, automotive pioneer, entrepreneur and industrialist. He invented the metal alloys stellite
and martensitic stainless steel
and designed one of the earliest automobiles made in the United States. He is recognized for having created the earliest American design that was feasible for mass production
and, with the Apperson brothers, he formed the first company in the United States to produce automobiles profitably. He made many advances in the automotive industry.
Early in his career, while serving as a superintendent at gas and oil companies during Indiana
's gas boom
, Haynes invented several devices important to the advance of the natural gas
industry. When working for the Indiana Natural Gas and Oil Company, he oversaw the construction of the first long-distance natural gas pipeline in the United States, connecting Chicago with the Trenton Gas Field
150 miles (241.4 km) away. He began to formulate plans for a motorized vehicle in the early 1890s; he successfully road tested his first car, the Pioneer, on July 4, 1894—eight years after the first automobile was patented in Germany. He formed a partnership with Elmer and Edgar Apperson in 1896 to start Haynes-Apperson
for the commercial production of automobiles, and he renamed it Haynes Automobile Company
in 1905, following the loss of his partners.
Working in his auto company's laboratory to develop new corrosion
-resistant metals for auto parts, Haynes discovered that mixing tungsten
with chromium
, steel
and iron
resulted in the formation of strong and lightweight alloys that were impervious to corrosion and could withstand very high temperatures. He formed Haynes Stellite Company to produce one of the new alloys and received lucrative contracts during World War I
, making Haynes a millionaire in 1916. He sold his patent for stainless steel to the American Stainless Steel Company in exchange for enough stock to gain a seat at the company's board of directors, a position he held for twelve years. Because of labor problems, he sold the stellite company and patent to Union Carbide
in 1920, and after passing through different owners, the company was renamed and is now called Haynes International
. Haynes returned his focus to his automotive company, but in the economic recession of the 1920s the business went bankrupt and was liquidated
. He lost a quarter of his fortune in 1925 when he was held personally responsible for a large portion of the company's debts.
An outspoken advocate of prohibition
, he made substantial donations to the Prohibition Party
and Indiana's prohibitionist leader Frank Hanly
. Haynes ran an unsuccessful campaign in Indiana
for the U.S. Senate
in 1916 as a prohibition candidate and remained active in the party until prohibition became law. Later, he became a philanthropist and served two terms as president of the YMCA
, five years on the Indiana Board of Education, and was an active member of the Presbyterian church. After his death from complications arising from influenza
, his Kokomo
mansion was converted into the Elwood Haynes Museum
and is open to the public where many of his original inventions and automobiles are on display.
, the fifth of ten children of Jacob M. Haynes and Hilinda S. Haines Haynes. His family was of English
descent; his ancestors had immigrated to New England
in 1638. His father was Jay County's
school commissioner, a lawyer, Whig
politician, and a judge of the Jay and Randolph
County common pleas court. Both of Haynes' parents were dedicated Presbyterians and outspoken prohibition
ists and educated their children from a young age to avoid liquor. His mother was the founder of a local Women's Temperance Movement Union. His paternal grandfather Henry Haynes was a gunsmith
and mechanic, and tutored Haynes about metallurgy
. In 1866, the family moved from their two-room house in Portland into the countryside outside of town where they purchased a larger home to better accommodate their growing number of children.
At age 12, Haynes built his first vehicle from scrap railroad car parts and operated it on the county's railroad tracks. The local railroad foreman did not approve and later seized the vehicle and destroyed it. As a child, Haynes had an interest in chemistry
and metallurgy
and when he was 15, with his grandfather's help, he built a smelting furnace and began working with copper
, bronze
, and iron
. Haynes was also interested in nature and spent considerable time in the forest cataloging and observing plants, insects, and animals. Because he spent so much time there, his family nicknamed him "Wood", a nickname they used for most of his life. As he grew older, he became an avid reader of books, including Principles of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry by William Wells. His early experiments and studies interested him in the fundamental properties of matter
, and he was intrigued by how mixing compounds could create completely different alloys.
Haynes attended public schools through eighth grade
and received a basic education. He had not determined a career path for himself and his parents often criticized him for lacking ambition; they insisted that he seek employment. He began by working as a custodian
at a local church and later for the railroad, hauling ballast
to construction sites. At the church, he joined the choir where he met and began to court Bertha Lanterman. When Portland's first public high school was opened in 1876, Haynes returned to school at age 19 and completed two more years. Bertha and her family moved to Alabama
during the spring of 1877, and Haynes began a regular correspondence with her. During the summer of that year, a series of revival meeting
s were held in Indiana by Francis Murphy
, a leader of a national temperance
organization known as the Murphy Movement. Haynes attended the meetings, probably at his parents urging, and became interested in temperance. He took two of Murphy's pledge cards and carried one for most of his life; the other he mailed to Bertha.
Haynes' father attended the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 where he learned of a school that would fit his son's interests. Using the money he had saved, Haynes decided to attend the college and enrolled in the Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science
in Worcester, Massachusetts
, in September 1878. The school was revolutionary for its time, combining technical training with a classical liberal arts
education. Although he easily passed the difficult entrance exam, he found that he was ill-prepared for some of his college courses, and he struggled with mathematics. To earn an income while away from home, he worked as a custodian and night guard at the local public library. He cleaned the building overnight and used his spare time to read books and study. During his final year at the school, boarding rates were increased beyond what Haynes could afford so with no other option, he lived in the library for several months. He could not afford to return home during his stay at the institute, so during the holidays he spent time with his family and friends in New England
.
During his first term, he was required to receive a grade of 60 to remain in the school. Although he only achieved a 59.2 after completing his final exams, he was permitted to remain because of his "recent progress." Older than the other students in his class, he often spoke out against their use of alcohol. In his final year he took courses in metallurgy, ore
analysis and assay
ing, and participated in a research project developing razors. His graduation thesis was entitled "The effects of Tungsten on Iron and Steel". It laid out the basic principles of what would later become his two greatest advances in metallurgy. Haynes spent many hours in the institute's laboratory working with tungsten
and other metals before graduating in 1881; he was fourteenth out of twenty-one graduates—twenty did not pass.
Haynes took a job teaching at the Jay County public school after returning home. Soon his income allowed him to buy a home near Portland High School where he worked and was promoted to principal in 1882. That summer he took a week-long trip to visit Bertha in Chattanooga, Tennessee
, where he became sick with a cold and spent most of his time in bed nursed by Bertha, learning that her family would be returning to live in Portland in 1883. After returning from the trip, he continued saving money and in 1884 he decided to continue his education by enrolling at Johns Hopkins University
in Baltimore, Maryland. He chose the school because, as it was only eight years old, it had one of the most modern laboratories available. He took courses in chemistry and biology
and learned advanced metallurgic techniques. His mother died in May 1885 and he decided to leave the university without completing his second year, as he was not working to attain a degree but only taking courses of interest. After he had returned home again, he took a position at the newly established Eastern Indiana Normal School and Commercial College (now Ball State University
) and served as the head of the chemistry department.
was first found in Indiana in 1876 but it was not until 1886 that the magnitude of the discovery was known; the Trenton Gas Field
was the largest deposit of natural gas discovered in the 19th century and the first giant oil reserve found in the United States. As a professor at a university in the Trenton Field, Haynes offered his services to the drillers and worked to analyze soil samples, determine well pressure, and give estimates on the amount of energy that could be created by the gas. He delivered several lectures to large crowds about the importance of the gas discovery and the many possible applications of this new source of fuel. He began a petition to have the local citizens create a corporation to pump the fuel from the ground and pipe it to area homes and businesses. His promotion was successful and Portland Natural Gas and Oil Company was formed; Haynes' father was named to the new company's board of directors.
In the fall of 1886, the board hired Haynes as superintendent to manage the company and oversee the creation of wells and piping. The company was one of the first in the Trenton Field, and many of the others which soon followed modeled themselves on the Portland company. As a fuel and industry, natural gas was in its earliest stages. Haynes invented several devices that became important to the success of the industry. One of his first inventions was a device capable of measuring the amount of gas being pumped from wells. Haynes' reputation as an industry leader grew out of his operations at Portland and the Kokomo Democrat referred to him as "the only infallible authority on natural gas in eastern Indiana" in a 1889 article.
Haynes married Bertha Lanterman in October 1887 after a ten-year relationship. The ceremony was held at her parents' Portland home and the couple honeymooned in Cincinnati. Their first child, Marie, was born on January 28, 1889, but she soon succumbed to illness and died when six months old. Their second child, a son born in 1890, also died in infancy. The deaths saddened the family and caused them to turn more to their religion. Haynes became increasingly active in the Presbyterian church and became an elder
. In December 1892, the Haynes' third child, Bernice, was born. A second son, March, was born 1896. The two children were well educated and grew up to assist their father in his enterprises.
A primary pipeline was laid between Portland and a neighboring town during 1889. Haynes oversaw construction of the ten-mile (16 km) long pipeline and the creation of the wells for pumping the gas. During his numerous buggy rides between the two towns, he first began to conceive of a novel form of motorized transportation. His thoughts on the topic were spurred by his need to regularly change horses because of their inability to endure the long distances and sandy roads he frequently traveled. He theorized that a motorized vehicle would be more economical than horse-and-buggy transportation, and could potentially move at a faster rate of speed.
The Indiana Natural Gas and Oil Company, headquartered in Chicago
, hired Haynes as their field superintendent in 1890 after the company's board of directors "discovered that Elwood Haynes knew more about natural gas than anyone in the state". He and his wife moved to Greentown
where he oversaw the construction of the company's first pumping wells. The company planned to construct a natural gas line from eastern Indiana to Chicago, a distance of over 150 miles (241.4 km), which would be the first long-distance natural gas pipeline built in the United States. Haynes supervised the design and construction phases of the project. Because of the length of the line and the temperature changes between the two points, moisture in the natural gas condensed
on the pipe, and during colder times would freeze the pipes in some locations. The problem was a significant setback to the operation, which had to stop pumping during the winter months. Haynes solved the problem by creating a refrigeration device that would cause the moisture (which was a diluted form of gasoline
) to condense, freeze, and fall into a reservoir. These devices were installed between the main lines and pumping stations and effectively removed all the moisture from the natural gas before it was pumped into the lines. This prevented water buildup in the pipes and allowed the pipes to be used year round. The concept was a significant advance in early refrigeration
technology and was further developed by others in later years.
Haynes was offered a higher ranking position within Indiana Gas at the Chicago headquarters, but by then he had become aware of the business's connection to the corrupt and disgraced monopolist
Charles T. Yerkes. A deeply religious man who feared involvement in any corruption, Haynes entertained the offer only briefly; Bertha's advice to refuse the position persuaded him and he declined the offer and instead sought a position more removed from the company's Chicago leadership. After the pipeline became fully operational in 1892, Haynes moved to Kokomo
where he was made a supervisor of the Indiana Gas's local operations. The Indiana General Assembly
began attempts to regulate the gas industry and accused the field operations of various companies of gross waste; Indiana Gas became the primary target of scathing reports. Haynes helped the company compile reports and offered opinions on the validity of their claims. He was disturbed to find that many of the claims proved true, and advocated that the gas be used more conservatively. He specifically recommended that the flambeaus (the flames fed by natural gas to show that the gas was flowing) be extinguished, as they were found to be the largest source of waste. He calculated that the company daily wasted $10,000 ($ in 2009 chained dollars
) worth of gas by burning flambeaus, a figure that shocked the company's leaders. Despite his support of the governmental anti-waste regulations, he was steadfastly against other rules that regulated pressure and hindered productivity. He personally filed lawsuits against the regulations a month after their passage, claiming that the government had no right to regulate artificial increases in well pressure. The court case continued until 1896, when the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the regulations were unconstitutional. The entire set of regulations was repealed, including the anti-waste measures. The gross waste continued among other companies and the field's wells began to run dry by 1905—modern experts estimate as much as 90% of the one trillion cubic feet (30 km3) of natural gas in the field was lost into the atmosphere or misused.
, where he first witnessed a gasoline engine. The demonstration of the newly invented engine inspired him to decide that an internal combustion engine would be the most practical method to propel his vehicle. A gasoline powered European automobile built by German
inventor Karl Benz
(who patented the first automobile in 1886) also was on display during the fair, although it is unknown if Haynes witnessed this vehicle during his visit.
Haynes ordered a one-horsepower
marine upright, two-cycle engine from Stintz Gas Engine Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan
for $225. Although the engine was intended for use on a small boat, Haynes believed it could be adapted for his purposes. The 180-lb (82-kg) engine arrived in the fall of 1893 and was accompanied by Harry Kraft. Kraft was a Stintz company engineer who was interested in Haynes' use of the engine and offered valuable advice for adapting the motor for Haynes' project. Haynes soon had the device attached to a carriage he built in his kitchen. He found when he started the engine that its vibrations were too severe for the harness it was in, and before he could stop the engine it had done considerable damage to the carriage and the floor of his kitchen, and filled the room with smoke.
Haynes decided he needed a different facility to continue the experiment after his wife told him she would not abide his destruction of the family kitchen. He contacted Elmer Apperson, the operator of the Riverside Machine Shop, and arranged to use a space in his shop for the continued development. He agreed to work on his vehicle only after-hours, pay 40 cents per hour for the help of Elmer and his brother Edgar, and to not hold them responsible should his project fail. He started building a new carriage, this time with a heavier metal harness made of steel. He described the appearance of the vehicle as a "small truck". The wheel axles were also made of steel and the entire front axle was constructed to swivel. A central column was built of steel and laid across the axles in such a way as to allow it move in all directions within a small radius to accommodate any sudden movements by the motor or vehicle.
Because the traction of rubber tires was unknown, Haynes completed a series of tests with a bicycle on paved roads. He used a wagon built to the weight of his automobile and a horse to pull a device that would cause the wheels to turn, thereby providing traction. With this, he was able to determine the ratio of weight to gear sizes needed to enable the tires to provide sufficient traction for propulsion. Once completed, his vehicle weighed about 820 pounds (371.9 kg).
He named his car the Pioneer and first test drove the vehicle on July 4, 1894. The Apperson brothers had notified the Kokomo townspeople of the test drive and a crowd gathered to witness the event. Haynes was concerned that his vehicle could injure someone in the crowd, so he had the vehicle towed by a horse and buggy to a state turnpike, away from the crowd. The car started with Haynes driving and Elmer Apperson riding as a passenger, and traveled at 7 mph (11 km/h). He traveled for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and then stopped the vehicle to manually turn it around with Elmer's help. He proceeded to drive it several more miles back into town without stopping. His trip convinced him that the vehicle was worthwhile and could become a valuable enterprise, although he was disappointed in the vehicle's handling and decided he needed to improve the steering system and find a way to divert the motor's exhaust smoke away from the carriage.
Haynes' car is believed to be the second gasoline-engine powered vehicle to be successfully road tested in the United States, according to its exhibit information at the Smithsonian Institution
. It was built two years before Henry Ford
's Quadricycle
, and preceded only by Charles Duryea
's Motorized Wagon less than a year earlier. Unlike Duryea's car, which was an adapted buckboard wagon that was designed to run under its own power but still able to be pulled by horse, Haynes' car was designed only to run on its own. Some automotive historians use this difference to determine that Haynes' car was the first true American automobile. The Stintz company continued to be intrigued by Haynes' use of their motor and sent representatives to photo his vehicle and published the images as an advertisement for one of their engine's possible uses. The publicity spurred the creation of numerous other automobiles across the American midwest.
Haynes continued to drive his car as he added improvements to the vehicle, and constructed the Pioneer II in 1895 to incorporate his improved steering designs and an exhaust pipe. He built the new car with the intention of running it the 1895 Chicago Times-Herald Race, the first automobile race in the United States. Although over seventy-five cars were entered in the race, most of their owners did not have them completed in time for race so only three cars and six early motorcycles showed up. While driving to the race, Haynes had a confrontation with a Chicago policeman who insisted that Haynes had no right to drive his vehicle on public roads, forcing him to requisition a horse to pull the car the rest of the way. Similar incidents happened with the other race's entries so the city passed an ordinance a few days later to clear up any ambiguity in the laws and allow automobiles equal access to the city streets, allowing the postponed race to take place. While giving his car a ride around the town on the following day Haynes was involved in what is believed to be the first automobile accident after swerving to miss a street car and striking a sharp curb, busting a tire and damaging the axle. Without a spare tire, Haynes was unable to run in the race. The race was held on November 28, and thousands of spectators turned out. Duryea's car won first place and a German Benz came in second. Another contest was held in which Haynes won a prize for most intuitive design.
and other auto parts. His intent was to make a metal that would be resistant to rusting. He experimented with the use of aluminum and found that when used, it significantly deadened the noise produced by the engine parts. As his designs progressed, he decided to form a partnership for the manufacture of his vehicles. At the end of 1894, Haynes joined with Elmer and Edgar Apperson to create an automobile company and began producing cars that year. Their company is recognized as being the first viable automotive company in the United States, and the second company to commercially produce autos. The Duryea Motor Wagon Company
had formed a year earlier, but went out of business after producing only thirteen vehicles. Haynes became involved in a dispute with the Duryea company over the advertisements Haynes-Apperson ran, claiming to have created the first automobile. The Haynes-Apperson advertisement was clearly false, but after Duryea's company went bankrupt in 1898, there was no one to continue to dispute the claim. "America's First Car" remained the company's motto for the rest of its existence.
By 1896, the company had the infrastructure to produce one new car every two to three weeks and was building vehicles on order for $2,000. As the number of orders increased, the company was formally incorporated as Haynes-Apperson
on May 5, 1898, with $25,000 in capital obtained by issuing stock to Portland and Kokomo businessmen. At the end of that year the company was relocated to a large factory it had built in Kokomo. Two new models were designed and the workforce was expanded as production increased. Advertisements were run in area newspapers and Haynes-Apperson cars were demonstrated at county fairs and other exhibitions. Demand for the vehicles grew rapidly from five cars produced in 1898 to thirty in 1899, 192 in 1900, and 240 in 1901. The work kept the factory open 24 hours a day, and two shifts totaling more than 350 workers were needed to keep the factory running at capacity by 1902. Sales totaled over $400,000 that year.
Haynes-Apperson automobiles were known for their long-distance running capability. The company's cars regularly competed and won prizes in endurance races that demonstrated the distance and terrain over which the cars could travel. Haynes had soon designed superior methods of achieving traction and his car could climb hills easier than his competitors in the early races. The last model designed under the Haynes-Apperson name had three speeds and was capable of 24 mph on pneumatic tires. In 1901, a Haynes car was entered in the first Long Island Non-Stop endurance race. The Haynes car took first place in the race, adding to the company's publicity and helped feed a large jump in sales.
Another event to gain the company significant publicity was the sale of a car to Dr. Ashley A. Webber in New York City. Webber refused to buy any car unless the seller could prove the car's endurance by driving it to his home. Haynes and Edgar Apperson readily agreed to the demand and drove the car from Kokomo to Webber's New York home, the first time an automobile traveled over 1000 miles (1,609.3 km). The trip took over a month; after driving several days in the rain, the two decided to install a roof on future models.
Haynes began to have disagreements with the Apperson brothers for reasons that were never made public but were probably over money and design plans. Haynes wanted to produce luxury cars because much of the company's early clientele was wealthy, while the Appersons wanted to produce utilitarian vehicles that could be marketed to businesses. The disagreement led the two brothers to split from Haynes and start a company of their own in 1902. The loss of his partners necessitated that Haynes leave his position at Indiana Gas to devote more time to his growing business. Haynes was most interested in working on development, and turned over daily management to Victor Minich in 1903. Haynes spent most of his research efforts on developing metals in an attempt to discover lighter and stronger alloys for use in automobile parts. He also investigated other areas and published a 1906 paper on the impurities in gasoline and recommended that the sulfur content in the fuel be lowered to increase engine performance.
brothers split from Haynes, Haynes-Apperson was renamed the Haynes Automobile Company
and Haynes launched a series of publicity campaigns. A parade of 2,000 cars was organized in New York City
during 1908 and Haynes, whom many recognized as the inventor of the American automobile, led the parade down Broadway riding in the Pioneer. He was followed by ten Haynes cars, a model from each year to display the advancement in technology. On his way to the parade, Haynes was unaware of the city's newly established speeding laws and was arrested for driving too fast—in a car with a top speed of 15 mph (17 km/h)—and taken to jail. He was soon able to see a magistrate who released him after learning that he was Elwood Haynes and had come to lead the parade. The celebration was intended to be a ten year commemoration of the invention of the automobile, although earlier self-vehicles dated back nearly twenty years in Europe
. Haynes donated the Pioneer to the United States Government in 1910 to be placed in the Smithsonian Institution
where it is still on display in the National Museum of American History
as the second oldest motorized vehicle in the United States.
Haynes' Model L was his most popular vehicle. First designed in 1905, the three-speed car could travel at 35 mph (58 km/h) and carry four passengers; the company sold over 4,300. Haynes expanded the company significantly in 1908 to accommodate ever-increasing sales. More stock was issued and more capital raised to build a new and larger factory. By 1909 the company was producing 650 cars annually with models priced between $2,500 and $5,500. In 1910, Haynes Auto became the first company to build a car with a roof, windshield, headlights, and a speedometer as standard on each vehicle to continue their goal of producing the best luxury vehicles.
More than 1,000 autos were built by Haynes Automobile Company in 1910 and the company continued to experience growth, until a devastating fire swept the company factory in 1911 and killed one employee. Recovery from the blaze was slow, and it was not until 1913 that the company was able to resume its growth. To continue the promotion of his cars, Haynes organized a trip in which he crossed the country by automobile in 1914. The trip gained considerable attention from the press and gave his company publicity and a much needed sales boost in the wake of the fire. Almost every town he visited printed newspaper stories on his invention and many hailed him as the "Father of the Automobile".
resistant metals. While working on alloys for use in spark plug
s, he created a metal he named stellite
. Realizing the value of his discovery, he patented his first version in 1907. The metal was very resistant to corrosion and had immediate application in tool making and numerous other implementations. He continued to experiment with it until 1910 when he published his findings in a paper to the International Congress of Applied Chemistry
and the American Institute of Metals, where he held memberships. His final version was completed in 1912 and his patent issued on June 20.
He applied for another patent on an alloy he called stainless steel
, now known as martensitic stainless steel. The government rejected his application saying that it was not a new alloy. Haynes conceded their point, but submitted a second application and supplied a sample showing the stainlessness of his alloy when created using his exact proportions of metals, and it was granted. At the urging of his wife, he created the first set of stainless steel silverware for her personal use. In later years he claimed to have created stainless steel because she did not enjoy polishing their silver tableware. British metallurgist Harry Brearley
independently produced an identical alloy around the same time and applied for an American patent and found that one already existed. Brearley had also created other innovations for the metal, but they were of little value without the stainless steel patent. He sought out Haynes and the two decided to pool their findings in a single company to produce the alloy. Haynes sold his stainless steel patent in 1918 to the American Stainless Steel Company, a company Brearley had created with the assistance of investors in Pennsylvania
. In exchange he and his estate received royalties on its production until the patent expired in 1930. The stock he received as payment allowed him to gain a seat among the company's board of directors and he installed his son, March, to represent him. The income from the transaction led Haynes to begin the accumulation of a large fortune.
Seeing stellite as a far more valuable metal, he decided to keep its patent for himself and founded the Haynes Stellite Company in Kokomo to produce the metal in September 1912. Many of his initial requests for the metal were from medical tool manufacturers who saw the alloy as the best for surgical tools. Because his company could not produce enough of the metal to satisfy demand, Haynes issued licenses to several companies in the United States, Canada, and Europe to produce the alloy and pay him royalties. Haynes strictly controlled production, and did not permit the other licensees to sell stellite in its raw form, but to only sell it as specific finished products. In that way, he remained the only vendor who could sell sheets of the metal. As World War I
broke out, his company received large government contracts for use of the material. Stellite was found to have excellent applications in airplanes, and because it was non-corrosive and could protect its contents indefinitely, it proved to be the best metal available for ammunition casing. In 1916 alone, the company registered $1.3 million in sales. The rapid growth of the business made Haynes increasingly wealthy and he became a millionaire that year. Despite his large income, he refused to provide his employees a year-end bonus, causing a significant stir in the factory. When a foreman demanded to know the reason that their wages were not raised, he told him, "It doesn't pay to give the working man too much money—it makes him too independent." His statement was widely repeated and, although he claimed to have made it in jest, it alienated a large part of his workforce and began a period of labor problems.
After the war, Haynes Stellite moved to producing tableware, jewelry, and pocket knives. The employees of the company unionized and began to demand wage increases beyond what Haynes believed was fair. The threat of labor strikes and Haynes' desire to avoid the problem led him to sell the company to Union Carbide
on April 10, 1920, in exchange for 25,000 shares of Union Carbide stock valued at $2 million. He later made an additional half million from dividends. Other details of the deal were never made public, and Haynes may have made as much $4 million on the sale. After a series of owners, the company is now called Haynes International
and is again independent.
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Haynes was an avid supporter of prohibition and spoke several times on behalf of prohibitionist leader Frank Hanly
, lending him both personal and financial support. Hanly advocated the passage of a local option law that allowed most of Indiana to ban liquor sales in 1909. He continued in his support of the Prohibition Party
and donated it thousands of dollars and an automobile nicknamed the "Prohibition Flyer". He became increasingly involved in the organization and in 1916 he ran
for the United States Senate
on the prohibition ticket, making many speeches and stumping across the state. He was overwhelmingly defeated, receiving only 15,598 votes out of nearly one million cast. Harry Stewart New
, the Republican
candidate narrowly won the election by plurality, and Haynes was accused of costing Incumbent Democratic Senator John W. Kern
's re-election. Despite his personal electoral failure, liquor sales were completely banned in Indiana by a 1918 law that went into effect in 1919. With his goals achieved, Haynes switched to join the Republican Party, but was significantly less active in politics thereafter.
Although Haynes was a prohibitionist, he was a critic of the Indiana Branch
of the Ku Klux Klan
, which was in the height of its power during the 1910s and 1920s. In letters to friends and fellow prohibitionists, he ridiculed the organization for using violent and illegal tactics to achieve prohibition, and accused them of hypocrisy for supporting many anti-prohibition Democrat politicians. Kokomo politics was dominated by the Klan during that period and it is unknown if Haynes spoke publicly against the organization.
He funded the formation of a Young Men's Christian Association in Kokomo where he and his son became active. Haynes taught swimming classes and regularly took underprivileged young boys to movies and bought them dinners. After several years of active membership at the local level, he was elected president of the national YMCA in 1919 and served two one-year terms. His primary focus during his tenure was the launching of several successful membership drives. In 1920, he was appointed to the Indiana State Board of Education by Governor
James P. Goodrich
where he advocated increased state funding for vocational education.
The United States economy went into a recession in the early 1920s and automobile sales decreased. Coupled with increasing competition, Haynes Automobile Company began running into debt problems. Haynes had to use his personal savings to rescue the company in 1921 and pay off some outstanding accounts. A bond drive was launched to raise $1 million to help fund the company through the period, but it fell significantly short of raising enough money. Haynes was the primary purchaser of the bonds. Unlike the other large auto companies like Ford and General Motors, Haynes Auto did not have the widespread dealership agreements that were able to sustain their companies through the hard times; his company relied on customer's ordering directly from the factory. Haynes Auto sales quickly began to slip from a peak of nearly 6,000 cars sold in 1922. In 1923 sales dropped to 4,300, and 1,500 in 1924. The situation continued to be bleak for the company, and it was forced to declare bankruptcy in October 1924. Haynes sought a merger with multiple other auto companies, including Henry Ford
, but partners were not forthcoming and Haynes was forced to agree to a liquidation in 1925. He was held personally responsible for about $95,000 of the company's debt. In addition, he lost $335,700 in stock he held in the company and a substantial amount in investment bonds. In total, the loss cost Haynes an estimated quarter of his net worth.
and his health began to deteriorate rapidly. In March, he asked his son to take over his business interests while he traveled to Florida
to seek rest in the warmer climate. His condition steadily worsened, causing him to cancel his planned trip to Cuba
and return to Kokomo. He remained in his home, attended by two personal physicians until his death from congestive heart failure
on April 13, 1925. Haynes' funeral was held in Kokomo before his interment at the city's Memorial Park cemetery.
Haynes' fortune had shrunk considerably with the collapse of his auto company. He still held an estimated $2.85 million ($35 million in 2009 chained dollars
) in stocks, bonds, and other assets, but almost all of his cash savings were gone. He had already been forced to borrow money using future dividends and royalties as collateral, leaving his family with some difficulty in coming up with funds to maintain his home. Haynes' estate was left to his wife who continued to live in the family mansion until her own death from a stroke in August 1933. The family assets were distributed between Bernice and March who separately oversaw their portion of the family's interests. March inherited the family mansion, but sold it to the General Motors Company
who used it as a company headquarters and a laboratory for several years. The company sold the mansion in 1965 to Bernice, who donated it to the city of Kokomo. The city converted it into the Elwood Haynes Museum
and it has been open to the public since 1967. In January 1944 the SS Elwood Haynes, a Liberty Ship
built during World War II
, was named in Haynes' honor.
Haynes is remembered as a pioneer of the American automobile, and as the creator of the first automobile design viable for mass production. He is credited as being one of those primarily responsible for the rapid growth of the natural gas industry in Indiana, a boom that made northern Indiana one of the leading industrial regions of the United States. He is also remembered for his development of stainless steel and stellite, materials that are commonly used across the world today. Stellite remains an important metal, as its ability to withstand high temperatures has made it a component in American spacecraft.
Haynes is the grandfather of Margaret Hillis
, founder and director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, and Elwood Hillis
, and eight term Congressman representing Indiana's 5th District.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
inventor, metallurgist
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, automotive pioneer, entrepreneur and industrialist. He invented the metal alloys stellite
Stellite
Stellite alloy is a range of cobalt-chromium alloys designed for wear resistance. It may also contain tungsten or molybdenum and a small but important amount of carbon...
and martensitic stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
and designed one of the earliest automobiles made in the United States. He is recognized for having created the earliest American design that was feasible for mass production
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
and, with the Apperson brothers, he formed the first company in the United States to produce automobiles profitably. He made many advances in the automotive industry.
Early in his career, while serving as a superintendent at gas and oil companies during Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
's gas boom
Indiana Gas Boom
The Indiana Gas Boom was a period of active drilling and production of natural gas in the Trenton Gas Field, in the US state of Indiana and the adjacent northwest part of Ohio The boom began in the early 1880s and lasted into the early twentieth century....
, Haynes invented several devices important to the advance of the natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
industry. When working for the Indiana Natural Gas and Oil Company, he oversaw the construction of the first long-distance natural gas pipeline in the United States, connecting Chicago with the Trenton Gas Field
Trenton Gas Field
The Trenton Gas Field is located in east central Indiana and the most western portion of west central Ohio. The field was discovered in 1876, but the size and magnitude of the field was not known until the 1880s. The field was the largest natural gas discovery up to that time, containing over of...
150 miles (241.4 km) away. He began to formulate plans for a motorized vehicle in the early 1890s; he successfully road tested his first car, the Pioneer, on July 4, 1894—eight years after the first automobile was patented in Germany. He formed a partnership with Elmer and Edgar Apperson in 1896 to start Haynes-Apperson
Haynes-Apperson
Haynes-Apperson Company was a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles in Kokomo, Indiana, from 1896 to 1905. It was the first automobile manufacturer in Indiana, and among the first in the United States...
for the commercial production of automobiles, and he renamed it Haynes Automobile Company
Haynes Automobile Company
The Haynes Automobile Company was a United States automobile manufacturing company which produced automobiles in Kokomo, Indiana, from 1905 to 1924. The company was related to the Haynes-Apperson company which produced automobiles from 1896-1905...
in 1905, following the loss of his partners.
Working in his auto company's laboratory to develop new corrosion
Corrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
-resistant metals for auto parts, Haynes discovered that mixing tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
with chromium
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...
, steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
resulted in the formation of strong and lightweight alloys that were impervious to corrosion and could withstand very high temperatures. He formed Haynes Stellite Company to produce one of the new alloys and received lucrative contracts during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, making Haynes a millionaire in 1916. He sold his patent for stainless steel to the American Stainless Steel Company in exchange for enough stock to gain a seat at the company's board of directors, a position he held for twelve years. Because of labor problems, he sold the stellite company and patent to Union Carbide
Union Carbide
Union Carbide Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. It currently employs more than 2,400 people. Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume...
in 1920, and after passing through different owners, the company was renamed and is now called Haynes International
Haynes International
Haynes International Inc. is a manufacturer of metal alloys employing more than 1,070 employees worldwide with sales of 434.4 million United States Dollars in 2007 with 8 plants around the world. The corporation is headquartered in Kokomo, Indiana...
. Haynes returned his focus to his automotive company, but in the economic recession of the 1920s the business went bankrupt and was liquidated
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
. He lost a quarter of his fortune in 1925 when he was held personally responsible for a large portion of the company's debts.
An outspoken advocate of prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, he made substantial donations to the Prohibition Party
Prohibition Party
The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...
and Indiana's prohibitionist leader Frank Hanly
Frank Hanly
James Franklin Hanly was a United States politician who served as a congressman from Indiana from 1895 until 1897, and was the 26th Governor of Indiana from 1905 to 1909...
. Haynes ran an unsuccessful campaign in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
for the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1916 as a prohibition candidate and remained active in the party until prohibition became law. Later, he became a philanthropist and served two terms as president of the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, five years on the Indiana Board of Education, and was an active member of the Presbyterian church. After his death from complications arising from influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
, his Kokomo
Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States, Indiana's 13th largest city. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard and Tipton counties....
mansion was converted into the Elwood Haynes Museum
Elwood Haynes Museum
The Elwood Haynes Museum is a museum in the former mansion Elwood Haynes, an inventor who is credited with being the first to produce cars commercially in 1894. He also invented stainless steel and stellite...
and is open to the public where many of his original inventions and automobiles are on display.
Family and background
Haynes was born on October 14, 1857, in Portland, IndianaPortland, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,437 people, 2,739 households, and 1,750 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,566.8 people per square mile . There were 2,928 housing units at an average density of 712.7 per square mile...
, the fifth of ten children of Jacob M. Haynes and Hilinda S. Haines Haynes. His family was of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
descent; his ancestors had immigrated to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in 1638. His father was Jay County's
Jay County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 21,806 people, 8,405 households, and 6,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 57 people per square mile . There were 9,074 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...
school commissioner, a lawyer, Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
politician, and a judge of the Jay and Randolph
Randolph County, Indiana
Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 26,171. The county seat is Winchester.-History:...
County common pleas court. Both of Haynes' parents were dedicated Presbyterians and outspoken prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
ists and educated their children from a young age to avoid liquor. His mother was the founder of a local Women's Temperance Movement Union. His paternal grandfather Henry Haynes was a gunsmith
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
and mechanic, and tutored Haynes about metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
. In 1866, the family moved from their two-room house in Portland into the countryside outside of town where they purchased a larger home to better accommodate their growing number of children.
At age 12, Haynes built his first vehicle from scrap railroad car parts and operated it on the county's railroad tracks. The local railroad foreman did not approve and later seized the vehicle and destroyed it. As a child, Haynes had an interest in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
and when he was 15, with his grandfather's help, he built a smelting furnace and began working with copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
, and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. Haynes was also interested in nature and spent considerable time in the forest cataloging and observing plants, insects, and animals. Because he spent so much time there, his family nicknamed him "Wood", a nickname they used for most of his life. As he grew older, he became an avid reader of books, including Principles of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry by William Wells. His early experiments and studies interested him in the fundamental properties of matter
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
, and he was intrigued by how mixing compounds could create completely different alloys.
Education
Eighth grade
Eighth grade is a year of education in the United States, Canada, Australia and other nations. Students are usually 13 - 14 years old. The eighth grade is typically the final grade before high school, and the ninth grade of public and private education, following kindergarten and subsequent grades...
and received a basic education. He had not determined a career path for himself and his parents often criticized him for lacking ambition; they insisted that he seek employment. He began by working as a custodian
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
at a local church and later for the railroad, hauling ballast
Track ballast
Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railway sleepers or railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to facilitate drainage of water, to distribute the load from the railroad ties, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track...
to construction sites. At the church, he joined the choir where he met and began to court Bertha Lanterman. When Portland's first public high school was opened in 1876, Haynes returned to school at age 19 and completed two more years. Bertha and her family moved to Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
during the spring of 1877, and Haynes began a regular correspondence with her. During the summer of that year, a series of revival meeting
Revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...
s were held in Indiana by Francis Murphy
Francis Murphy (evangelist)
Francis Murphy was an American temperance evangelist, born in County Wexford, Ireland. He served in the Federal army during the Civil War. Beginning in 1870 at Portsmouth, N. H., he started temperance reform clubs throughout that state and was their first president...
, a leader of a national temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
organization known as the Murphy Movement. Haynes attended the meetings, probably at his parents urging, and became interested in temperance. He took two of Murphy's pledge cards and carried one for most of his life; the other he mailed to Bertha.
Haynes' father attended the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 where he learned of a school that would fit his son's interests. Using the money he had saved, Haynes decided to attend the college and enrolled in the Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute is a private university located in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States.Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities...
in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, in September 1878. The school was revolutionary for its time, combining technical training with a classical liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
education. Although he easily passed the difficult entrance exam, he found that he was ill-prepared for some of his college courses, and he struggled with mathematics. To earn an income while away from home, he worked as a custodian and night guard at the local public library. He cleaned the building overnight and used his spare time to read books and study. During his final year at the school, boarding rates were increased beyond what Haynes could afford so with no other option, he lived in the library for several months. He could not afford to return home during his stay at the institute, so during the holidays he spent time with his family and friends in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
analysis and assay
Assay
An assay is a procedure in molecular biology for testing or measuring the activity of a drug or biochemical in an organism or organic sample. A quantitative assay may also measure the amount of a substance in a sample. Bioassays and immunoassays are among the many varieties of specialized...
ing, and participated in a research project developing razors. His graduation thesis was entitled "The effects of Tungsten on Iron and Steel". It laid out the basic principles of what would later become his two greatest advances in metallurgy. Haynes spent many hours in the institute's laboratory working with tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
and other metals before graduating in 1881; he was fourteenth out of twenty-one graduates—twenty did not pass.
Haynes took a job teaching at the Jay County public school after returning home. Soon his income allowed him to buy a home near Portland High School where he worked and was promoted to principal in 1882. That summer he took a week-long trip to visit Bertha in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, where he became sick with a cold and spent most of his time in bed nursed by Bertha, learning that her family would be returning to live in Portland in 1883. After returning from the trip, he continued saving money and in 1884 he decided to continue his education by enrolling at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in Baltimore, Maryland. He chose the school because, as it was only eight years old, it had one of the most modern laboratories available. He took courses in chemistry and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and learned advanced metallurgic techniques. His mother died in May 1885 and he decided to leave the university without completing his second year, as he was not working to attain a degree but only taking courses of interest. After he had returned home again, he took a position at the newly established Eastern Indiana Normal School and Commercial College (now Ball State University
Ball State University
Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana. It is also known as Ball State or simply BSU.Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball State's campus spans and includes 106 buildings...
) and served as the head of the chemistry department.
Gas boom
Natural gasNatural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
was first found in Indiana in 1876 but it was not until 1886 that the magnitude of the discovery was known; the Trenton Gas Field
Trenton Gas Field
The Trenton Gas Field is located in east central Indiana and the most western portion of west central Ohio. The field was discovered in 1876, but the size and magnitude of the field was not known until the 1880s. The field was the largest natural gas discovery up to that time, containing over of...
was the largest deposit of natural gas discovered in the 19th century and the first giant oil reserve found in the United States. As a professor at a university in the Trenton Field, Haynes offered his services to the drillers and worked to analyze soil samples, determine well pressure, and give estimates on the amount of energy that could be created by the gas. He delivered several lectures to large crowds about the importance of the gas discovery and the many possible applications of this new source of fuel. He began a petition to have the local citizens create a corporation to pump the fuel from the ground and pipe it to area homes and businesses. His promotion was successful and Portland Natural Gas and Oil Company was formed; Haynes' father was named to the new company's board of directors.
In the fall of 1886, the board hired Haynes as superintendent to manage the company and oversee the creation of wells and piping. The company was one of the first in the Trenton Field, and many of the others which soon followed modeled themselves on the Portland company. As a fuel and industry, natural gas was in its earliest stages. Haynes invented several devices that became important to the success of the industry. One of his first inventions was a device capable of measuring the amount of gas being pumped from wells. Haynes' reputation as an industry leader grew out of his operations at Portland and the Kokomo Democrat referred to him as "the only infallible authority on natural gas in eastern Indiana" in a 1889 article.
Haynes married Bertha Lanterman in October 1887 after a ten-year relationship. The ceremony was held at her parents' Portland home and the couple honeymooned in Cincinnati. Their first child, Marie, was born on January 28, 1889, but she soon succumbed to illness and died when six months old. Their second child, a son born in 1890, also died in infancy. The deaths saddened the family and caused them to turn more to their religion. Haynes became increasingly active in the Presbyterian church and became an elder
Elder (Christianity)
An elder in Christianity is a person valued for his wisdom who accordingly holds a particular position of responsibility in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions an elder is a clergy person who usually serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of Word,...
. In December 1892, the Haynes' third child, Bernice, was born. A second son, March, was born 1896. The two children were well educated and grew up to assist their father in his enterprises.
A primary pipeline was laid between Portland and a neighboring town during 1889. Haynes oversaw construction of the ten-mile (16 km) long pipeline and the creation of the wells for pumping the gas. During his numerous buggy rides between the two towns, he first began to conceive of a novel form of motorized transportation. His thoughts on the topic were spurred by his need to regularly change horses because of their inability to endure the long distances and sandy roads he frequently traveled. He theorized that a motorized vehicle would be more economical than horse-and-buggy transportation, and could potentially move at a faster rate of speed.
The Indiana Natural Gas and Oil Company, headquartered in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, hired Haynes as their field superintendent in 1890 after the company's board of directors "discovered that Elwood Haynes knew more about natural gas than anyone in the state". He and his wife moved to Greentown
Greentown, Indiana
Greentown is a town in Liberty Township, Howard County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,415 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Greentown is located at ....
where he oversaw the construction of the company's first pumping wells. The company planned to construct a natural gas line from eastern Indiana to Chicago, a distance of over 150 miles (241.4 km), which would be the first long-distance natural gas pipeline built in the United States. Haynes supervised the design and construction phases of the project. Because of the length of the line and the temperature changes between the two points, moisture in the natural gas condensed
Condensation
Condensation is the change of the physical state of matter from gaseous phase into liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. When the transition happens from the gaseous phase into the solid phase directly, the change is called deposition....
on the pipe, and during colder times would freeze the pipes in some locations. The problem was a significant setback to the operation, which had to stop pumping during the winter months. Haynes solved the problem by creating a refrigeration device that would cause the moisture (which was a diluted form of gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
) to condense, freeze, and fall into a reservoir. These devices were installed between the main lines and pumping stations and effectively removed all the moisture from the natural gas before it was pumped into the lines. This prevented water buildup in the pipes and allowed the pipes to be used year round. The concept was a significant advance in early refrigeration
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
technology and was further developed by others in later years.
Haynes was offered a higher ranking position within Indiana Gas at the Chicago headquarters, but by then he had become aware of the business's connection to the corrupt and disgraced monopolist
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
Charles T. Yerkes. A deeply religious man who feared involvement in any corruption, Haynes entertained the offer only briefly; Bertha's advice to refuse the position persuaded him and he declined the offer and instead sought a position more removed from the company's Chicago leadership. After the pipeline became fully operational in 1892, Haynes moved to Kokomo
Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States, Indiana's 13th largest city. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard and Tipton counties....
where he was made a supervisor of the Indiana Gas's local operations. The Indiana General Assembly
Indiana General Assembly
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate...
began attempts to regulate the gas industry and accused the field operations of various companies of gross waste; Indiana Gas became the primary target of scathing reports. Haynes helped the company compile reports and offered opinions on the validity of their claims. He was disturbed to find that many of the claims proved true, and advocated that the gas be used more conservatively. He specifically recommended that the flambeaus (the flames fed by natural gas to show that the gas was flowing) be extinguished, as they were found to be the largest source of waste. He calculated that the company daily wasted $10,000 ($ in 2009 chained dollars
Chained dollars
Chained dollars is a method of adjusting real dollar amounts for inflation over time, so as to allow comparison of figures from different years. The U.S. Department of Commerce introduced the chained-dollar measure in 1996...
) worth of gas by burning flambeaus, a figure that shocked the company's leaders. Despite his support of the governmental anti-waste regulations, he was steadfastly against other rules that regulated pressure and hindered productivity. He personally filed lawsuits against the regulations a month after their passage, claiming that the government had no right to regulate artificial increases in well pressure. The court case continued until 1896, when the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the regulations were unconstitutional. The entire set of regulations was repealed, including the anti-waste measures. The gross waste continued among other companies and the field's wells began to run dry by 1905—modern experts estimate as much as 90% of the one trillion cubic feet (30 km3) of natural gas in the field was lost into the atmosphere or misused.
1894 First Haynes car
According to Haynes, he began laying out "plans for the construction of a mechanically propelled vehicle for use on highways" in 1891. His first idea was for a steam powered vehicle, but after careful consideration he decided the use of a furnace on the device would be too dangerous. His second plan was to use electrical power, but after research he found that no practical means existed to store the electricity required for operation. He continued to develop his plans until the summer of 1893 when he attended the Chicago World's FairWorld's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
, where he first witnessed a gasoline engine. The demonstration of the newly invented engine inspired him to decide that an internal combustion engine would be the most practical method to propel his vehicle. A gasoline powered European automobile built by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
inventor Karl Benz
Karl Benz
Karl Friedrich Benz, was a German engine designer and car engineer, generally regarded as the inventor of the gasoline-powered car, and together with Bertha Benz pioneering founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz...
(who patented the first automobile in 1886) also was on display during the fair, although it is unknown if Haynes witnessed this vehicle during his visit.
Haynes ordered a one-horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
marine upright, two-cycle engine from Stintz Gas Engine Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
for $225. Although the engine was intended for use on a small boat, Haynes believed it could be adapted for his purposes. The 180-lb (82-kg) engine arrived in the fall of 1893 and was accompanied by Harry Kraft. Kraft was a Stintz company engineer who was interested in Haynes' use of the engine and offered valuable advice for adapting the motor for Haynes' project. Haynes soon had the device attached to a carriage he built in his kitchen. He found when he started the engine that its vibrations were too severe for the harness it was in, and before he could stop the engine it had done considerable damage to the carriage and the floor of his kitchen, and filled the room with smoke.
Haynes decided he needed a different facility to continue the experiment after his wife told him she would not abide his destruction of the family kitchen. He contacted Elmer Apperson, the operator of the Riverside Machine Shop, and arranged to use a space in his shop for the continued development. He agreed to work on his vehicle only after-hours, pay 40 cents per hour for the help of Elmer and his brother Edgar, and to not hold them responsible should his project fail. He started building a new carriage, this time with a heavier metal harness made of steel. He described the appearance of the vehicle as a "small truck". The wheel axles were also made of steel and the entire front axle was constructed to swivel. A central column was built of steel and laid across the axles in such a way as to allow it move in all directions within a small radius to accommodate any sudden movements by the motor or vehicle.
He named his car the Pioneer and first test drove the vehicle on July 4, 1894. The Apperson brothers had notified the Kokomo townspeople of the test drive and a crowd gathered to witness the event. Haynes was concerned that his vehicle could injure someone in the crowd, so he had the vehicle towed by a horse and buggy to a state turnpike, away from the crowd. The car started with Haynes driving and Elmer Apperson riding as a passenger, and traveled at 7 mph (11 km/h). He traveled for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and then stopped the vehicle to manually turn it around with Elmer's help. He proceeded to drive it several more miles back into town without stopping. His trip convinced him that the vehicle was worthwhile and could become a valuable enterprise, although he was disappointed in the vehicle's handling and decided he needed to improve the steering system and find a way to divert the motor's exhaust smoke away from the carriage.
Haynes' car is believed to be the second gasoline-engine powered vehicle to be successfully road tested in the United States, according to its exhibit information at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. It was built two years before Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
's Quadricycle
Ford Quadricycle
The Ford Quadricycle was the first vehicle developed by Henry Ford. Ford's first car was a simple frame with an ethanol-powered engine and four bicycle wheels mounted on it.The earliest cars were hand built, one by one, and very expensive...
, and preceded only by Charles Duryea
Charles Duryea
Charles Edgar Duryea was the engineer of the first-ever working American gasoline-powered car. He was born near Canton, Illinois, the son of George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but spent most of his life working in Springfield, Massachusetts...
's Motorized Wagon less than a year earlier. Unlike Duryea's car, which was an adapted buckboard wagon that was designed to run under its own power but still able to be pulled by horse, Haynes' car was designed only to run on its own. Some automotive historians use this difference to determine that Haynes' car was the first true American automobile. The Stintz company continued to be intrigued by Haynes' use of their motor and sent representatives to photo his vehicle and published the images as an advertisement for one of their engine's possible uses. The publicity spurred the creation of numerous other automobiles across the American midwest.
Haynes continued to drive his car as he added improvements to the vehicle, and constructed the Pioneer II in 1895 to incorporate his improved steering designs and an exhaust pipe. He built the new car with the intention of running it the 1895 Chicago Times-Herald Race, the first automobile race in the United States. Although over seventy-five cars were entered in the race, most of their owners did not have them completed in time for race so only three cars and six early motorcycles showed up. While driving to the race, Haynes had a confrontation with a Chicago policeman who insisted that Haynes had no right to drive his vehicle on public roads, forcing him to requisition a horse to pull the car the rest of the way. Similar incidents happened with the other race's entries so the city passed an ordinance a few days later to clear up any ambiguity in the laws and allow automobiles equal access to the city streets, allowing the postponed race to take place. While giving his car a ride around the town on the following day Haynes was involved in what is believed to be the first automobile accident after swerving to miss a street car and striking a sharp curb, busting a tire and damaging the axle. Without a spare tire, Haynes was unable to run in the race. The race was held on November 28, and thousands of spectators turned out. Duryea's car won first place and a German Benz came in second. Another contest was held in which Haynes won a prize for most intuitive design.
Haynes-Apperson
Haynes continued to perfect his auto design, and in late 1895 he began his work to create a new hard alloy for use as a crankcaseCrankcase
In an internal combustion engine of the reciprocating type, the crankcase is the housing for the crankshaft. The enclosure forms the largest cavity in the engine and is located below the cylinder, which in a multicylinder engine are usually integrated into one or several cylinder blocks...
and other auto parts. His intent was to make a metal that would be resistant to rusting. He experimented with the use of aluminum and found that when used, it significantly deadened the noise produced by the engine parts. As his designs progressed, he decided to form a partnership for the manufacture of his vehicles. At the end of 1894, Haynes joined with Elmer and Edgar Apperson to create an automobile company and began producing cars that year. Their company is recognized as being the first viable automotive company in the United States, and the second company to commercially produce autos. The Duryea Motor Wagon Company
Duryea Motor Wagon Company
The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, established in 1895, was one of the first American firms to build gasoline automobiles.Founded by Charles Duryea and his brother Frank, they built a one-cylinder "Ladies Phaeton", first demonstrated on September 21, 1893 in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Taylor...
had formed a year earlier, but went out of business after producing only thirteen vehicles. Haynes became involved in a dispute with the Duryea company over the advertisements Haynes-Apperson ran, claiming to have created the first automobile. The Haynes-Apperson advertisement was clearly false, but after Duryea's company went bankrupt in 1898, there was no one to continue to dispute the claim. "America's First Car" remained the company's motto for the rest of its existence.
By 1896, the company had the infrastructure to produce one new car every two to three weeks and was building vehicles on order for $2,000. As the number of orders increased, the company was formally incorporated as Haynes-Apperson
Haynes-Apperson
Haynes-Apperson Company was a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles in Kokomo, Indiana, from 1896 to 1905. It was the first automobile manufacturer in Indiana, and among the first in the United States...
on May 5, 1898, with $25,000 in capital obtained by issuing stock to Portland and Kokomo businessmen. At the end of that year the company was relocated to a large factory it had built in Kokomo. Two new models were designed and the workforce was expanded as production increased. Advertisements were run in area newspapers and Haynes-Apperson cars were demonstrated at county fairs and other exhibitions. Demand for the vehicles grew rapidly from five cars produced in 1898 to thirty in 1899, 192 in 1900, and 240 in 1901. The work kept the factory open 24 hours a day, and two shifts totaling more than 350 workers were needed to keep the factory running at capacity by 1902. Sales totaled over $400,000 that year.
Another event to gain the company significant publicity was the sale of a car to Dr. Ashley A. Webber in New York City. Webber refused to buy any car unless the seller could prove the car's endurance by driving it to his home. Haynes and Edgar Apperson readily agreed to the demand and drove the car from Kokomo to Webber's New York home, the first time an automobile traveled over 1000 miles (1,609.3 km). The trip took over a month; after driving several days in the rain, the two decided to install a roof on future models.
Haynes began to have disagreements with the Apperson brothers for reasons that were never made public but were probably over money and design plans. Haynes wanted to produce luxury cars because much of the company's early clientele was wealthy, while the Appersons wanted to produce utilitarian vehicles that could be marketed to businesses. The disagreement led the two brothers to split from Haynes and start a company of their own in 1902. The loss of his partners necessitated that Haynes leave his position at Indiana Gas to devote more time to his growing business. Haynes was most interested in working on development, and turned over daily management to Victor Minich in 1903. Haynes spent most of his research efforts on developing metals in an attempt to discover lighter and stronger alloys for use in automobile parts. He also investigated other areas and published a 1906 paper on the impurities in gasoline and recommended that the sulfur content in the fuel be lowered to increase engine performance.
Haynes Automobile Company
In 1905, three years after the AppersonApperson
The Apperson was a brand of American automobile manufactured from 1901 to 1926 in Kokomo, Indiana.-Company history:The company was founded by the brothers Edgar and Elmer Apperson shortly after they left Haynes-Apperson; for a time they continued to use a FR layoutont-mounted flat-twin engine,...
brothers split from Haynes, Haynes-Apperson was renamed the Haynes Automobile Company
Haynes Automobile Company
The Haynes Automobile Company was a United States automobile manufacturing company which produced automobiles in Kokomo, Indiana, from 1905 to 1924. The company was related to the Haynes-Apperson company which produced automobiles from 1896-1905...
and Haynes launched a series of publicity campaigns. A parade of 2,000 cars was organized in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
during 1908 and Haynes, whom many recognized as the inventor of the American automobile, led the parade down Broadway riding in the Pioneer. He was followed by ten Haynes cars, a model from each year to display the advancement in technology. On his way to the parade, Haynes was unaware of the city's newly established speeding laws and was arrested for driving too fast—in a car with a top speed of 15 mph (17 km/h)—and taken to jail. He was soon able to see a magistrate who released him after learning that he was Elwood Haynes and had come to lead the parade. The celebration was intended to be a ten year commemoration of the invention of the automobile, although earlier self-vehicles dated back nearly twenty years in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Haynes donated the Pioneer to the United States Government in 1910 to be placed in the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
where it is still on display in the National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
as the second oldest motorized vehicle in the United States.
More than 1,000 autos were built by Haynes Automobile Company in 1910 and the company continued to experience growth, until a devastating fire swept the company factory in 1911 and killed one employee. Recovery from the blaze was slow, and it was not until 1913 that the company was able to resume its growth. To continue the promotion of his cars, Haynes organized a trip in which he crossed the country by automobile in 1914. The trip gained considerable attention from the press and gave his company publicity and a much needed sales boost in the wake of the fire. Almost every town he visited printed newspaper stories on his invention and many hailed him as the "Father of the Automobile".
Haynes Stellite Company
Haynes continued his research into ways to produce corrosionCorrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
resistant metals. While working on alloys for use in spark plug
Spark plug
A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed fuels such as aerosol, gasoline, ethanol, and liquefied petroleum gas by means of an electric spark.Spark plugs have an insulated central electrode which is connected by...
s, he created a metal he named stellite
Stellite
Stellite alloy is a range of cobalt-chromium alloys designed for wear resistance. It may also contain tungsten or molybdenum and a small but important amount of carbon...
. Realizing the value of his discovery, he patented his first version in 1907. The metal was very resistant to corrosion and had immediate application in tool making and numerous other implementations. He continued to experiment with it until 1910 when he published his findings in a paper to the International Congress of Applied Chemistry
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations that represents chemists in individual countries. It is a member of the International Council for Science . The international headquarters of IUPAC is located in Zürich,...
and the American Institute of Metals, where he held memberships. His final version was completed in 1912 and his patent issued on June 20.
He applied for another patent on an alloy he called stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, now known as martensitic stainless steel. The government rejected his application saying that it was not a new alloy. Haynes conceded their point, but submitted a second application and supplied a sample showing the stainlessness of his alloy when created using his exact proportions of metals, and it was granted. At the urging of his wife, he created the first set of stainless steel silverware for her personal use. In later years he claimed to have created stainless steel because she did not enjoy polishing their silver tableware. British metallurgist Harry Brearley
Harry Brearley
Harry Brearley is usually credited with the invention of "rustless steel" in the anglophone world.-Life:...
independently produced an identical alloy around the same time and applied for an American patent and found that one already existed. Brearley had also created other innovations for the metal, but they were of little value without the stainless steel patent. He sought out Haynes and the two decided to pool their findings in a single company to produce the alloy. Haynes sold his stainless steel patent in 1918 to the American Stainless Steel Company, a company Brearley had created with the assistance of investors in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. In exchange he and his estate received royalties on its production until the patent expired in 1930. The stock he received as payment allowed him to gain a seat among the company's board of directors and he installed his son, March, to represent him. The income from the transaction led Haynes to begin the accumulation of a large fortune.
Seeing stellite as a far more valuable metal, he decided to keep its patent for himself and founded the Haynes Stellite Company in Kokomo to produce the metal in September 1912. Many of his initial requests for the metal were from medical tool manufacturers who saw the alloy as the best for surgical tools. Because his company could not produce enough of the metal to satisfy demand, Haynes issued licenses to several companies in the United States, Canada, and Europe to produce the alloy and pay him royalties. Haynes strictly controlled production, and did not permit the other licensees to sell stellite in its raw form, but to only sell it as specific finished products. In that way, he remained the only vendor who could sell sheets of the metal. As World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, his company received large government contracts for use of the material. Stellite was found to have excellent applications in airplanes, and because it was non-corrosive and could protect its contents indefinitely, it proved to be the best metal available for ammunition casing. In 1916 alone, the company registered $1.3 million in sales. The rapid growth of the business made Haynes increasingly wealthy and he became a millionaire that year. Despite his large income, he refused to provide his employees a year-end bonus, causing a significant stir in the factory. When a foreman demanded to know the reason that their wages were not raised, he told him, "It doesn't pay to give the working man too much money—it makes him too independent." His statement was widely repeated and, although he claimed to have made it in jest, it alienated a large part of his workforce and began a period of labor problems.
After the war, Haynes Stellite moved to producing tableware, jewelry, and pocket knives. The employees of the company unionized and began to demand wage increases beyond what Haynes believed was fair. The threat of labor strikes and Haynes' desire to avoid the problem led him to sell the company to Union Carbide
Union Carbide
Union Carbide Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. It currently employs more than 2,400 people. Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume...
on April 10, 1920, in exchange for 25,000 shares of Union Carbide stock valued at $2 million. He later made an additional half million from dividends. Other details of the deal were never made public, and Haynes may have made as much $4 million on the sale. After a series of owners, the company is now called Haynes International
Haynes International
Haynes International Inc. is a manufacturer of metal alloys employing more than 1,070 employees worldwide with sales of 434.4 million United States Dollars in 2007 with 8 plants around the world. The corporation is headquartered in Kokomo, Indiana...
and is again independent.
Prohibition
Frank Hanly
James Franklin Hanly was a United States politician who served as a congressman from Indiana from 1895 until 1897, and was the 26th Governor of Indiana from 1905 to 1909...
, lending him both personal and financial support. Hanly advocated the passage of a local option law that allowed most of Indiana to ban liquor sales in 1909. He continued in his support of the Prohibition Party
Prohibition Party
The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...
and donated it thousands of dollars and an automobile nicknamed the "Prohibition Flyer". He became increasingly involved in the organization and in 1916 he ran
United States Senate elections in Indiana
United States Senators are elected in Indiana to serve in Class I and Class III. Senators serve six years terms and are elected in statewide elections...
for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on the prohibition ticket, making many speeches and stumping across the state. He was overwhelmingly defeated, receiving only 15,598 votes out of nearly one million cast. Harry Stewart New
Harry Stewart New
Harry Stewart New was a U.S. politician, journalist, and Spanish-American War veteran.-Biography:Harry Stewart New was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 31, 1858, the son of John C. New and his wife, Melissa New...
, the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate narrowly won the election by plurality, and Haynes was accused of costing Incumbent Democratic Senator John W. Kern
John W. Kern
John Worth Kern was a Democratic United States Senator from Indiana. While the title was not official, he is considered to be the first Senate Majority leader , while serving concurrently as Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus.Born in Alto, Indiana, Kern studied law at the University of...
's re-election. Despite his personal electoral failure, liquor sales were completely banned in Indiana by a 1918 law that went into effect in 1919. With his goals achieved, Haynes switched to join the Republican Party, but was significantly less active in politics thereafter.
Although Haynes was a prohibitionist, he was a critic of the Indiana Branch
Indiana Klan
The Indiana Klan was a branch of the Ku Klux Klan, a secret society in the United States that practiced racism and terrorism against minority ethnic and religious groups. The Indiana Klan rose to prominence beginning in the years after World War I when rising levels of eastern and southern European...
of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, which was in the height of its power during the 1910s and 1920s. In letters to friends and fellow prohibitionists, he ridiculed the organization for using violent and illegal tactics to achieve prohibition, and accused them of hypocrisy for supporting many anti-prohibition Democrat politicians. Kokomo politics was dominated by the Klan during that period and it is unknown if Haynes spoke publicly against the organization.
Philanthropy
Haynes purchased a new home on Webster Street in Kokomo in 1916. The home, known as the Elwood Mansion, was large enough to house a personal laboratory for Haynes to work in. As he grew older and became less involved in his businesses, Haynes became increasingly philanthropic. He made regular large donations to the Presbyterian church and became a patron of the Worcester Institute he had attended, providing scholarships and donating funds for expansion.He funded the formation of a Young Men's Christian Association in Kokomo where he and his son became active. Haynes taught swimming classes and regularly took underprivileged young boys to movies and bought them dinners. After several years of active membership at the local level, he was elected president of the national YMCA in 1919 and served two one-year terms. His primary focus during his tenure was the launching of several successful membership drives. In 1920, he was appointed to the Indiana State Board of Education by Governor
Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...
James P. Goodrich
James P. Goodrich
James Putnam Goodrich, , a Republican, was the 29th Governor of Indiana from 1917 to 1921. His term focused on reforming the operations of the state government and overseeing the state's contributions for World War I. He nearly died twice during his term, and spent a considerable time bedridden...
where he advocated increased state funding for vocational education.
The United States economy went into a recession in the early 1920s and automobile sales decreased. Coupled with increasing competition, Haynes Automobile Company began running into debt problems. Haynes had to use his personal savings to rescue the company in 1921 and pay off some outstanding accounts. A bond drive was launched to raise $1 million to help fund the company through the period, but it fell significantly short of raising enough money. Haynes was the primary purchaser of the bonds. Unlike the other large auto companies like Ford and General Motors, Haynes Auto did not have the widespread dealership agreements that were able to sustain their companies through the hard times; his company relied on customer's ordering directly from the factory. Haynes Auto sales quickly began to slip from a peak of nearly 6,000 cars sold in 1922. In 1923 sales dropped to 4,300, and 1,500 in 1924. The situation continued to be bleak for the company, and it was forced to declare bankruptcy in October 1924. Haynes sought a merger with multiple other auto companies, including Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
, but partners were not forthcoming and Haynes was forced to agree to a liquidation in 1925. He was held personally responsible for about $95,000 of the company's debt. In addition, he lost $335,700 in stock he held in the company and a substantial amount in investment bonds. In total, the loss cost Haynes an estimated quarter of his net worth.
Death and legacy
On January 6, 1925, Haynes, the Apperson brothers, and other automotive pioneers were awarded gold medals by the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce at a New York City auto exhibition for their contributions to the industry. On his return trip home, he contracted influenzaInfluenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
and his health began to deteriorate rapidly. In March, he asked his son to take over his business interests while he traveled to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
to seek rest in the warmer climate. His condition steadily worsened, causing him to cancel his planned trip to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and return to Kokomo. He remained in his home, attended by two personal physicians until his death from congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
on April 13, 1925. Haynes' funeral was held in Kokomo before his interment at the city's Memorial Park cemetery.
Haynes' fortune had shrunk considerably with the collapse of his auto company. He still held an estimated $2.85 million ($35 million in 2009 chained dollars
Chained dollars
Chained dollars is a method of adjusting real dollar amounts for inflation over time, so as to allow comparison of figures from different years. The U.S. Department of Commerce introduced the chained-dollar measure in 1996...
) in stocks, bonds, and other assets, but almost all of his cash savings were gone. He had already been forced to borrow money using future dividends and royalties as collateral, leaving his family with some difficulty in coming up with funds to maintain his home. Haynes' estate was left to his wife who continued to live in the family mansion until her own death from a stroke in August 1933. The family assets were distributed between Bernice and March who separately oversaw their portion of the family's interests. March inherited the family mansion, but sold it to the General Motors Company
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
who used it as a company headquarters and a laboratory for several years. The company sold the mansion in 1965 to Bernice, who donated it to the city of Kokomo. The city converted it into the Elwood Haynes Museum
Elwood Haynes Museum
The Elwood Haynes Museum is a museum in the former mansion Elwood Haynes, an inventor who is credited with being the first to produce cars commercially in 1894. He also invented stainless steel and stellite...
and it has been open to the public since 1967. In January 1944 the SS Elwood Haynes, a Liberty Ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
built during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, was named in Haynes' honor.
Haynes is remembered as a pioneer of the American automobile, and as the creator of the first automobile design viable for mass production. He is credited as being one of those primarily responsible for the rapid growth of the natural gas industry in Indiana, a boom that made northern Indiana one of the leading industrial regions of the United States. He is also remembered for his development of stainless steel and stellite, materials that are commonly used across the world today. Stellite remains an important metal, as its ability to withstand high temperatures has made it a component in American spacecraft.
Haynes is the grandfather of Margaret Hillis
Margaret Hillis
Margaret Hillis was an American conductor. She was the founder and first director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus.-Life:...
, founder and director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, and Elwood Hillis
Elwood Hillis
Elwood Haynes "Bud" Hillis is a former U.S. Representative from Indiana.-Biography:Born in Kokomo, Indiana, Hillis attended Kokomo public schools.He graduated from Culver Military Academy, 1944.B.S., Indiana University, 1949....
, and eight term Congressman representing Indiana's 5th District.