Manufactured in Rock Hill, South Carolina,
When I asked Mr. Schwanke how he acquired the Anderson he told me that he had bought it from a gentleman who owned a body shop by New London, Minnesota. Mr. Schwanke learned that this body shop had the vehicle and approached the owner to see if he wanted to sell the car. At first the gentleman wanted too much for the car. But when the gentle man found out that Mr. Schwanke had a model T body he was interested in restoring they came up with a trade. When asked how the gentleman had purchase the vehicle himself he told this story.
He had been traveling in the Chicago area and he learned another gentleman had this junk car in his storage shed and wanted to get rid of it. The New London man went with the gentleman to his home and was shown the car. When he saw the car he realized he needed to buy this car. He asked the man how much he wanted for the car, the other man quoted a price at which they settled upon. The man from New London then brought the Anderson to Minnesota. The car looks pretty much like how it was found, with only a few minor repairs done to a rear fender.
After the museum acquired the Anderson, the Great Grand daughters of the manufacturer found out that the museum had the 1923 Anderson Touring car and came for a visit. After seeing the car, they informed Mr. Schwanke that they had never seen a 1923 and thought this might be one of a few in existence. After an exhausting search no other 1923 Touring car have been found to this day. Ten other Anderson cars are known to exist in public and private collections. Most of them are not in the condition like the one found here at the Schwanke museum.
Here is a brief history of the 1923 Touring Car:
Anderson Aluminum Six Touring Car, priced at $1195. It had a Aluminum Body, 6-Cylinder Red Seal Continental Motor, Westinghouse Starting/Lighting/Ignition, Borg and Beck Clutch, Motometer, Snubbers, and much more. The car boasted an average of 19 MPG.
John Gary Anderson was a former carriage maker who wanted to make Rock Hill, South Carolina the automobile capital of the country. In 1923 nearly 2,000 Anderson automobiles were made. They were sold in southern states and throughout the country.
These cars were hand crafted and made from 1916 to 1926. The Anderson business started out as a cart and buggy manufacturer where they would line produce a new buggy every 17 minutes and 10 second. In 1915 Anderson decided to build and test six cars. These cars featured wheels made from the best South Carolina hickory; they built a six cylinder engine capable of 38 horse power @ 200 RPM.
Anderson bought and used the best materials available at the time to use in their new vehicle. Fine metals, leather upholstery, plate glass windshields, and components bearing names respected even today. The Rock Hill plant made the main part of the body and the rest of the parts were shipped in to complete the car.
6300 cars were built in the 10 year production run. The cars were priced at $1195.00 after production but the Anderson could not compete with the less expensive Ford car which built for $298.00 and was soon force to stop their production.
Of the 6300 Anderson's built, only 11 are still in existence.
Here are some Sales Flyer's Featuring Anderson's
I actually enjoyed reading through this posting. Many thanks.
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