The Stanley Brothers

Car builders, engine builders
CLASS OF 2016
Veterans Committee Selection

Identical twin brothers were born in 1849 in Kingfield, ME. and the innovative pair were involved in many industries during their careers. In the late 1890’s, they began working to simplify the process of developing print pictures with the Stanley Dry Plates and became multi-millionaires from it in the process.

In the early 1890’s the automobile industry was in its infancy and the Stanley brothers took an interest. In 1902 they formed the Stanley Motor Carriage Company. They built a car using a ‘Stanley Steam Engine’ and drove it all over New England. By the turn of the century they had built 200 cars. In 1899, Freelan and his wife Flora drove one of their cars to the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It took over two hours and was the first ascent accomplished by a car. They would build several different models of the steam powered cars, yet they were all colloquially called “Stanley Steamers”.

Fred Marriott pilots the Stanley Steamer Rocket.

They also were one of the first to field cars in the first competitive automobile races. They dominated in hill climbs and closed course races, with the crowning glory being their “Stanley Rocket” driven by Fred Marriott that set a record of 127.66 mph at Ormond Beach in 1906. It was the first car to drive two miles in under 60 seconds.

With the advent of gasoline powered cars by the 1910’s, the steam powered cars went by the wayside. Francis Stanley died in 1918 (ironically from a car accident) and Freelan sold the company in 1924.

Noteworthy outside of racing, Freelan built the Stanley Hotel in Colorado as a resort for upper-class and patients with tuberculosis, which opened on July 4, 1909. Today, it is widely known as one of the most haunted hotels in the United States. In popular culture, it was the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s book “The Shining” and various film adaptations as well as the filming location for Jim Carrey’s hit movie “Dumb & Dumber” in 1994.