Halladay Motor Company

In January 1920, the Halladay Motors Corporation announced plans to open a manufacturing plant in Newark. The Halladay car, the brainchild of the company’s owner, L. P. Halladay, was not a new vehicle, as plants in Illinois and Ohio had been turning out the vehicle for 15 years. The company had started in Illinois, opened another plant in 1917 in Mansfield, and in 1920 was seeking investors to operate a plant on the east side of Newark.

The budding Newark operation needed to raise money through stock sales. They used the success of investors in other manufacturers like Pharis Tire and Rubber Co. and Elgin Motor Co. to entice new investors to buy stock in the Halladay car and profit from this new local manufacturer. To increase the excitement, the president of the company, Mr. T. E. Huth, drove to Newark on January 7, 1920 and displayed his Halladay vehicle in the arcade, no doubt to attract attention and investors.

After securing the required funding to begin the process, the Halladay Motors Corporation began purchasing the parts to piece together their cars. Halladay cars were pieced-together vehicles, albeit from parts sourced through disparate manufacturers specializing in each piece. They stocked up on these parts to put together Halladay, but found they needed even more parts to complete the vehicle. They raised more money through stock sales, but then discovered that buyers were unable to buy an expensive vehicle in the recession of 1920.

The company tried to make a less expensive car in 1922 called the Falcon and the financial backing for this new model did not arrive. The Falcon line also failed to sell enough cars to save the company.

In 1922, after an unsuccessful attempt to raise more funds locally through more stock sales, Halladay Motors Corporation failed and was placed into the hands of an appointed receiver.

K.W.