MICHIGAN

Prior to the first state law which invalidated all local registration on June 15, 1905, several cities provided for automobile licensing, Grand Rapids being the first in 1900.  The earliest known license plate requirement was also in Grand Rapids in 1903.

      (See ALPCA DEC-76 p.92)

      (MLPCA SEP-92 p.8 has cartoon from 4/23/1903 showing huge

       headlight to fit CT,IL,IN,MA,MI,MN,MO,NJ,NY,OH,PA,RI,WI)

      (Nice catalog pages MLPCA JUL-74 p.4)

Battle Creek (25,267)

The Detroit Free Press reported on August 23, 1904, that "At last the Battle Creek council has left the autombile ordinance alone long enough for it to sink into the think tanks of the auto owners of that city, and forty of them have stepped up and paid for their licenses."

Benton Harbor (9,185)

An ordinance was passed on August 1, 1904, and effective August 24, 1904, requiring automobile owners to obtain a license from the City Clerk, pay an annual $2 fee, and display a city-issued "number" which was to be "attached...in such manner as to be readily seen...from the sidewalk."  The license year was June 1 to May 31.

This ordinance was amended on April 17, 1905, effective April 28, 1905, but the only substantive change was to increase the 7 MPH speed limit to 8 MPH in the "fire" (downtown) district and to 13 MPH elsewhere in the city.

After the state law invalidated city licensing, the city council considered a petition on July 17, 1905, to refund license fees paid by owners for 1905/06 "less the cost of tag number."  Owners had a right to complain since they had paid for a year's term only to get 2 weeks worth of valid use from June 1 to June 15.

A thorough check of city records in neighboring St. Joseph (5,936) revealed only one pre-state automobile ordinance, passed on May 24, 1905, and effective June 15, 1905, which provided for a speed limit of 10 miles per hour, but no licensing or plate provisions.  At the time, it was reported that there were 27 automobiles in the two cities.  According to the St. Joseph Daily Press on June 22, 1905, "Other business brought before the council was an auto ordinance requiring the payment of a license and for the numbering of all machines upon the suggestion of Mayor Pixley.  Although City Attorney O'Hara mentioned the fact that there was a recent State law which made such action unnecessary, the matter was referred to the ordinance committee."

Detroit (465,766)

Contrary to popular belief, the automobile was not invented in Detroit, nor did this city become the center of automobile manufacturing until after Henry Ford moved to the area in 1903.  Oldsmobile was manufactured here from 1899 to 1901 but moved to Lansing in 1901, so there were no auto companies here in 1901-02.  The following companies also established operations in Detroit as follows:  Packard in 1902, Cadillac in 1903, and Maxwell in 1904.  Ford's plant was technically in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb.

The Automobile Club of Detroit was organized on June 23, 1902.  An automobile ordinance was introduced into council in August 1902 but failed to pass, largely due to efforts by the club to stave off overly restrictive laws.  A more reasonable ordinance did pass successfully and took effect on December 1, 1903, requiring a $1 fee to the city, and the display of city-issued leather plates with 4-inch-tall numerals.  Non-residents were allowed 2 days before having to register.

According to the Detroit Free Press on November 12, 1903, "The Automobile Equipment Co., 251 Jefferson avenue, was the lowest competitor for furnishing automobile license hangers, at 65 cents each, bids for which were opened in Controller Blade's office yesterday.  Fifteen hundred hangers, containing aluminum numbers, 4 1/2 inches in height, will be needed to comply with the ordinance requiring each machine to be equipped, and which goes into effect December 1.  The tags will cost the auto owner $1 each."

An additional article on December 16, 1903, stated that "Controller Blade's report on automobile license tags showed that, though provision had been made for 1,500 machines, at an expense of $975, but 300 licenses have been taken out, leaving a deficiency.  He was given permission to carry the amount expended as an overdraft, until the receipts are sufficient to meet the shortage."  It appears that Mr. Blade broke even in mid-August of 1904 once 975 tags had been issued.  A final article on June 1, 1905, reported that "As at the present time there are 1,467 automobile licenses issued in Detroit...", so nearly all of the original 1,500 plates were eventually issued before the new state law took over on June 15, 1905.

Apparently the first license year expired one year later on December 1, 1904, as #863 expired on that date, despite it having been issued only 5 months earlier on June 29, 1904.  The Clerk of the Registration Bureau of Detroit issued 1,026 automobile licenses from December 1, 1903, to September 1, 1904.  86 of those were issued during August 1904, leaving 940 issued as of August 1, 1904.  According to The Horseless Age of August 31, 1904, 1,015 licenses had been issued from inception to August 25 inclusive, 74 of which were in August, 75 in July and 139 in May.  An automobile directory as of November 1, 1904, includes numbers up to #1088.  We also know of certain issue dates from surviving license certificates:  #1024 on July 12, 1904, #1244 on April 6, 1905, and #1315 on April 24, 1905.  #1024 is questionable if only 940 licenses had been issued as of August 1, 1904.  The only known specimen is an undated leather plate #939.

(Flint (38,550)

 Buick was manufactured here starting in 1904, making Flint a likely candidate for city

 registration.)

Grand Rapids (112,571)

An automobile ordinance was passed on November 26, 1900, effective immediately, the earliest such ordinance in the state.  It required all motor vehicle owners to obtain an operators license and pay an annual $1 fee to the City Clerk.  Licenses expired one year from the date of issue.  No display of the license number was provided for.  Interestingly, there were only 4 automobiles in Grand Rapids as of September 15, 1900.  Due to the highly seasonal nature of automobiling in the very early years, and Michigan's notorious winters, it appears that no licenses were taken out until May 1901.

A new ordinance was passed on September 21, 1903, effective October 21, 1903, amending the 1900 ordinance by requiring an owner-provided rear plate with the owner's initials in 4-inch-tall letters in white on a dark background, and 1-inch-tall headlight initials.  If more than one owner happened to register with the same initials, the second one was to place a "2" on his plate after his initials, the third one a "3" and so forth.  This is the only known example of pre-states potentially existing with letters and numbers together, other than those with city or state abbreviations.  No records have been found to determine if any duplicate initials were actually encountered.

A final ordinance was passed on May 22, 1905 (the same date that Kalamazoo's ordinance passed), effective May 29, 1905, amending the 1900 and 1903 ordinances to change from initials to license numbers on plates and headlights.  Numbers were to start at #1.  The license year was also changed from variable (one year from date of issue) to fixed, May 1 to April 30.  By the time issuance was supposed to start on May 29, the state law had been passed, which would invalidate all city licenses as of June 15, 1905.  The Grand Rapids City Clerk suspended issue of new licenses and it appears none were ever issued under this final ordinance.

According to our analysis of city reports, we estimate that no more than 205 plates probably existed; none are known today.  On May 24, 1905, it was discovered that no motorcycles had ever registered under the ordinances, despite the fact that they were clearly intended to be included; there were estimated to be about 40 of them in the city.

Kalamazoo (39,437)

Ordinance #221 was passed on May 22, 1905 (the same date as Grand Rapids' final ordinance), and effective June 10, 1905.  It required automobile owners (but not motorcycles) to register with the City Clerk, pay an annual $1 fee, and display city-issued 4-inch-tall aluminum numbers on an owner-provided black background on the rear of the machine, very much like in Detroit.  The registration year was May 1 to April 30, and the same number would be reserved for owners if renewed by June 1 each year.  Non-residents were allowed 2 days before having to register.  It is highly doubtful that any registrations were issued under this ordinance due to the new state law taking effect just five days later on June 15, 1905, invalidating all local ordinances.

Lansing (31,229)

The Oldsmobile was manufactured here starting in 1901, and REO was also made here beginning in 1904.  A nationwide survey in The Horseless Age on November 5, 1902, reports that an "Ordinance has just been passed...license is required."  A subsequent article on September 16, 1903, states that "The city clerk of Lansing, Mich., has issued over fifty licenses at $1 each since the new local ordinance was passed."  Neither reference makes any mention of license numbers or plates, although the existence of them seems likely.

The Lansing Daily Journal published an article on May 18, 1905 (page 8), as follows:

"NO RUSH FOR LICENSES"

"Only Fifteen Auto Licenses"

"There were about eighty automobiles tagged in 1904-5, but only fifteen licenses have been sold for 1905-6."

An August 16, 1905, article in The Horseless Age reports that the city had decided to issue no refunds of the $1 fee to those owners who paid them prior to the state law taking effect.  Of the $1, 50c was paid to the city clerk for issuing the license, and the cost of "printing numbers" was 25c.

(Marion (767)

 An undated leather plate is known with "MARION" neatly lettered on one side and "588"

 scrawled on the reverse side.  Not knowing which side was fashioned first, or what either

 side represents, it is difficult to conclude anything definitive about it.  The plate

 could have been made purely for decorative purposes to display the owner's surname or the

 town name out of pride.  The numeric side does not bear the required "MICH" letters.  The

 plate also could have originated in Ohio, where city licensing continued until Ohio's

 first state law in June 1908.  It also could represent the Marion Motor Car Company.)

(Muskegon (24,062)

 A 1904 disc is known with the words "Licensed Vehicle", which likely refers to all types

 of vehicles, including horse-drawn.)

Owosso (9,639)

The Owosso Times of October 14, 1904, reported that "The first automobile license was issued under the new ordinance, to E. F. Joslin."

Port Huron (18,863)

The following article appeared in Motor Age magazine on June 30, 1904:

      "An automobile ordinance was passed by the common council of Port Huron, Mich., a few days ago and permits motorists to drive at a speed of 8 miles an hour in the business section of the town and 12 miles an hour outside of that section.  No person under 16 years of age will be allowed to operate an automobile on the streets.  Owners of automobiles must register with the city clerk, giving a description of the machine, residence, etc.  The clerk will furnish one or more illuminated figures 4 inches high and 3 inches in width at a cost of $1.  The owner of the automobile must put these figures on the rear of the vehicle or on the rear axle.  An automobile, after dark, must carry two lights, one on each side, of at least 4 candlepower to be set in front of a reflector.  On the face of the lamps must be painted the number of the license, 1 inch in size."

Indeed, the ordinance passed on June 21, 1904, and was approved June 25, 1904; the aluminum numbers issued by the city were to be mounted on an owner-provided dark background.  Several short articles in the Daily Herald tracked the progress of registration in Port Huron:  On July 2, "Eighteen automobile licenses have been issued up to date."  On July 9, "City Clerk Wagenseil has not received the numbers for automobiles.  He expects them in a day or two."  On August 29, "The automobile licenses that were ordered by City Clerk Wagenseil have not yet arrived.  Mr. Wagenseil states that he expects them in a few days."  On September 3, "City Clerk Wagenseil has received the automobile licenses.  Parties desiring them are requested to call at once."  On September 7, "Only two automobile owners have secured licenses from the city clerk."  On September 28, "Nineteen automobile licenses have been issued up to date."

Saginaw (50,510)

The June 22, 1904, issue of The Horseless Age reports that "A Saginaw, Mich., alderman has prepared an ordinance requiring automobilists to take out licenses and displaying the license number in figures not less than 6 inches high."  A subsequent article on July 6, 1904, mentions that the ordinance committee has granted a hearing to automobilists on the proposed measure, including that of the 6-inch numbers.  A September 7, 1904, article states that the new ordinance went into effect on September 1.  We don't know what the outcome of the number height was, but the article states:  "Since then fifty-three cars have been registered.  The police believe that there are nearly twice that number in the town."

Traverse City (12,115)

Ordinance #1230, passed on September 7, 1903, and effective October 5, 1903, required automobile owners to obtain an annual operators license from the city clerk for a fee of $1.  The license year was May 1 to April 30.  There was no mention of any display of a license number.  In all aspects, this resembles the requirements in effect in Grand Rapids at the time of passage.  Further research is needed to determine if any later ordinance was passed to add the display of license plates between 1903 and 1905.

(Trenton (1,224)

 A disc has been reported, but no other details are known.)