Will Sainte Claire Auto Museum

http://www.willsautomuseum.org



The Wills Auto Museum is located in Marysville, Michigan

C. Harold Wills (1878-1940)

C. Harold Wills (right) worked closely with Henry Ford (left) early in both men???s careers, beginning as Ford's draftsman in 1902. Wills is credited with the design of many engineering components of the Ford Model "T". When the Ford Motor Company was organized in 1903, Wills was its chief designer, metallurgist, and first employee. In fact, the Ford script logo still in use today was designed by Wills. By 1919, Wills had become restless in his job. He desperately wanted to update the Model "T", but Ford refused. Wills decided to leave Ford Motor Company and with his 1.5 million dollar severance pay, announced that he would build a car in Marysville, Michigan along the banks of the St. Clair River.

In 1921, the C.H. Wills Co. produced their first overhead-cam V-8 (model A-68) Wills Sainte Claire. Wills autos were lightweight and strong thanks to the use of Molybdenum steel, though for a luxury car it was considered small. Many different types of bodies were available including roadsters, touring, 5 & 7 passenger sedans.

On August 17, 1921, to prove the Wills quality, C. Harold Wills made a record run from Detroit to New York City, a distance of 689 miles in 20 hours, 26 minutes. On June 5, 1922, 80 cars were assembled in a single day, a company record! By November of 1922, The C.H. Wills Co entered into friendly receivership due to nationwide poor economic conditions and being 8 million dollars in debt.

In July 1923 the C.H. Wills Company was reorganized with the help of Boston bankers into Wills Sainte Claire, Inc. In 1925 Wills introduced the revolutionary six-cylinder overhead cam engine called the T-6. On August 28, 1926 driver L.B. Miller set a transcontinental record from San Francisco to New York City of 83 hours, 12 minutes using a stock T-6 roadster. But endurance records were not enough to keep the company in business, and on November 23, 1926, after producing more than 12,000 cars, auto production was halted and the company was liquidated. In 1933, C. Harold Wills joined Chrysler as a metallurgical consultant, and in August of the same year, Chrysler purchased the former Wills Sainte Claire factory, which is still in use today. On December 30, 1940, C. Harold Wills, auto engineer and visionary, passed away.

What you will see at the Wills Sainte Claire Auto Museum

On display in the Museum are six to eight Wills Sainte Claire Automobiles, some in restored and some in original condition, original photos, and color ads from the 1920???s, owners manuals of the cars, and more! Special exhibits include a replica of Henry Ford???s Quadricycle, a scale model of the Buehl Aircraft made in Marysville and other unique displays.

The Wills Museum building, located at 2408 Wills Street, Marysville, Michigan, was previously a Dow Chemical munitions factory built during WWII. The building???s unique feature is that it is concrete construction with wooden trusses and roof. This was designed so that if the building were to explode, the roof would blow off without serious damage to the walls. The roof could quickly be rebuilt and war production could resume.

The building was graciously donated by Richard and Patricia Donahey of Belleville, Michigan. The Donahey???s are antique auto enthusiasts who enjoy showing and touring in their vintage automobiles. They wish to share their joy of old cars with other members of the hobby. Thus, they have given the Wills Sainte Claire Club this building to help promote the antique car hobby and educate the public about the history of C. Harold Wills and the Wills Sainte Claire automobile. The Wills Club thanks the Donahey Foundation for their generosity extended and also thanks all of the car club members and others who have devoted their time, talent, and donations in order to make the Wills Sainte Claire Museum possible.

Car Storage Available

Car storage is also available at the museum to store your modern car, sports car, or antique in the winter months. The museum is secure and is heated and alarmed. This is a great way to store your car and also help fund the museum. To find out more about car storage and the rates, please contact one of the museum officers whose phone numbers are listed below.

Wills Sainte Claire Auto Museum

The Wills Museum building, located at 2408 Wills Street, Marysville, Michigan, was previously a Dow Chemical munitions factory built during WWII. The building???s unique feature is that it is concrete construction with wooden trusses and roof. This was designed so that if the building were to explode, the roof would blow off without serious damage to the walls. The roof could quickly be rebuilt and war production could resume.

The building was graciously donated by Richard and Patricia Donahey of Belleville, Michigan. The Donahey???s are antique auto enthusiasts who enjoy showing and touring in their vintage automobiles. They wish to share their joy of old cars with other members of the hobby. Thus, they have given the Wills Sainte Claire Club this building to help promote the antique car hobby and educate the public about the history of C. Harold Wills and the Wills Sainte Claire automobile. The Wills Club thanks the Donahey Foundation for their generosity extended and also thanks all of the car club members and others who have devoted their time, talent, and donations in order to make the Wills Sainte Claire Museum possible.

The Museum is open to the public the 2nd Sunday of each month from 1 pm to 5 pm or by appointment. To learn more about the Museum, or for information on storing your car in the Wills Museum building, or to make donations of Wills memorabilia to the Museum, please contact:

Board of Directors:

Terry Ernest, Director (810) 987-2854

Sally Wills-Achatz, Treasurer (810)

Pete Cangemi, Vice-President (810)

Carl Moss, Secretary (810) 982-4771

Scott Shepley

Greg Cleaver

Paul Pawlosky

http://www.willsautomuseum.org