McFarlan Automobile
Encyclopedia
Connersville, Indiana
At the 2000 census, there were 15,411 people, 6,382 households and 4,135 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,894.5 per square mile . There were 6,974 housing units at an average density of 857.3 per square mile...
from 1909 to 1928 as an outgrowth of the McFarlan Carriage Company founded in 1856 by English-born John B. McFarlan (1822-1909).
J. B. McFarlan's grandson, Alfred Harry McFarlan (1881-1937) conceived the idea for the McFarlan motor car and ran the McFarlan Motor Corporation throughout its nineteen years. The first model year was 1910 and two of the company's cars were enterend in events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
that year. McFarlans driven by Mel Marquette
Mel Marquette
Melvon Marquette was an American racecar driver. He was also an early aviator.-Indy 500 results:...
were also entered in first two Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
races (1911 and 1912) in which they finished 25th and 19th, respectively. The McFarlan was a luxury automobile owned by celebrities of the day such as William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor
William Desmond Taylor was an Irish-born American actor, successful film director of silent movies and a popular figure in the growing Hollywood film colony of the 1910s and early 1920s...
, Fatty Arbuckle
Fatty Arbuckle
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
, Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
, Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
and Virginia governor E. Lee Trinkle. Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
bought a McFarlan for his wife, Mae, in 1924 and bought a second one in 1926. Enormous models of the 1920s gave the company the reputation as being the "American Rolls Royce." 1928 was the final model year and the company went into bankruptcy that year.
In 1967, a book, What Was the McFarlan? was privately published in a limited edition of 1000 and is the definitive history of the McFarlan Motor Corporation. Authors Keith Marvin and Al Arnheim were McFarlan enthusiasts and avid automobile historians. The book identified nineteen extant McFarlans.
Today, a few McFarlans are owned in private collections and important automobile museums, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, which houses the Auto Racing Hall of Fame. It is intrinsically linked to the Indianapolis 500, but it also includes exhibits reflecting other forms of...
, the Petersen Automotive Museum
Petersen Automotive Museum
The Petersen Automotive Museum is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles. One of the world's largest automotive museums, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a non profit organization specializing in the education and history of the...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the National Automobile Museum
National Automobile Museum
The National Automobile Museum, located just south of the Truckee River in Reno, Nevada, displays historic automobiles from the late 19th century and from throughout the 20th. Most of the vehicles displayed are from the collection of the late casino owner William F...
in Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
and the Nethercutt Collection in California.