During the early part of the 20th century almost every town in America boasted at least one firm which was engaged in the production of gasoline powered vehicles. Birmingham, Michigan was no exception. It had its W. S. TRUCK CO. which manufactured one of the country's first 4-wheel drive vehicles in a machine shop on the east side of Brownell (now Peabody) just south of Maple.
Shown below are a number of photos illustrating different versions of the W. S. Truck. It utilized a worm gear driven rear axle and so it was slow, but it could pull exceptionally heavy loads without stalling. Furthermore, its 4-wheel drive allowed it to navigate the exceedingly poor roads of that era without becoming mired in mud.
This is a slightly different view of the same vehicle. The houses in the background were located on what is now Old Woodward Ave. They, and the vacant lot behind them disappeared when the BIRMINGHAM THEATRE was constructed in the late 20's.
Taken at the same time as the other two photos is this head on shot of the W. S. Truck's radiator and crank. Just to the right of the truck, in the far distance is a square two family rental house built by Edward R. Smith, Sr. It was located on the site of the present day HUNTER HOUSE HAMBURGER RESTAURANT at the intersection of Hamilton and the GRAND TRUNK RY. tracks.
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