Lenox Motor Car Company makes automobiles in JP

The Lenox Motor Car Company manufactured automobiles from 1917 to 1920. Their factory in Jamaica Plain was located at 3368 Washington St.

According to the Society’s November 1917 Journal, Lenox applied to be a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers listing R.B. Morton as their Chief Engineer.

A 1918 advertisement held by the Wisconsin Historical Society indicates that the Lenox Motor Car Company also manufactured agricultural tractors with their first model being built in 1910. The company was the successor to the Martell Motor Car Company in Jamaica Plain. 

The first Lenox automobile was a 27-hp, four-cylinder model shown at the 1911 Boston Automobile Show. The designer was Chester Bates who previously, was the engineer for the Morse Automobile Company in Springfield, MA.  

In 1913, Lenox introduced a 60-hp, six-cylinder model as well as a 30-hp, four-cylinder model. The factory closed at the end of 1917.

In July 2020, the lettering for the Lenox sign was still visible on the side of the building at 3368 Washington Street. Image by Jenny Nathans.

Sources

Early American Automobiles; retrieved March 23, 2016
http://www.earlyamericanautomobiles.com/americanautomobiles11.htm

Remember Jamaica Plain; retrieved March 23, 2016
http://rememberjamaicaplain.blogspot.com/2012/11/lenox-motor-car-company.html

Wisconsin Historical Society, Lenox Motor Car Company, Lenox American Tractor, Image ID: 91451. Viewed online at this link ;retrieved March 23, 2016