Newspaper advertisement for the Winton Automobile.
The Winton Motor Carriage Company was a pioneer automobile manufacturer based in Cleveland Ohio. A Scottish immigrant by the name of Alexander Winton, owner of the Winton Bicycle Company, turned from bicycle production to an experimental single-cylinder automobile. In March, 1897 he incorporated the company. The first automobiles were built by hand. Each vehicle had fancy painted sides, padded seats, a leather roof and gas lamps. Tires were made by B.F. Goodrich.
In March of 1898 the first Winton vehicle was purchased by Robert Allison from Pennsylvannia. The company sold a total of 22 cars that year.
In 1899 more than 100 Winton vehicles were sold. Winton continued to successfully market automobiles to upscale consumers through the 1910s. As dozens of new automobile companies
started up, rapid innovation and intense competition led to falling sales in the early 1920s. Winton Motor Carriage Company ceased automobile production in 1924.
