MISSOURI

Local registration in Missouri in the 1902-11 period is a complex subject due to several factors.  Some laws and ordinances provided for the registration of motor vehicles while others just licensed the owners who drove them, both scenarios resulting in the display or issuance of license plates.  Secondly, the various layers of government overlapped - at one point in 1906-07, drivers in St. Louis had to purchase a city plate, a county plate and a state registration which required a third plate to be provided by the owner.  Finally, the 1903 state law in effect until early 1907 specified licenses to be issued by city and county authorities, and these are difficult to sort out from licenses or registrations assigned by those authorities under their own ordinances.  It is assumed that double duty was performed by some of these requirements.

The earliest city to license automobiles was St. Louis in 1902.  Kansas City passed a licensing ordinance later in 1902.  In the meantime, the first state law in 1903 required owners to obtain a license from each and every city and county being traveled in, and to display the license number on a rear plate and two front headlights.  Hannibal and Kansas City are known to have issued licenses in 1903.  This confusion continued until 1907, when the first true state motor vehicle registration law was passed, repealing the 1903 statute.  Local plates continued unchanged through this transition, as well as the switch to state-issued plates in 1911.  The 1911 law forbade cities from charging any more than the state fee, and also banned city plates from the rear of the vehicle.  This caused most cities to drastically downsize their plates in 1912 or shortly after, so that they could be mounted on the front radiator.  Many years later, these small metal tags gave way to annual windshield stickers which are still in use today.

Chillicothe (6,265)

The Horseless Age reported on November 8, 1905, that an automobile ordinance had passed "a week ago" imposing a license fee of $10 per year.  Another ordinance passed in 1913 required a front city tag but this appears to have never been issued.

The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune reported in a series of articles in 1915 about the city's first license tags.  On January 14, 1915, some provisions of Ordinance #638 were listed.  The January 19, 1915, issue stated that "The city clerk was instructed to purchase automobile tags for the year 1915.  Hereafter, the automobiles will be compelled to wear city tags the same as state tags."  On February 20, 1915, it reported that "City Clerk W. L. Wanamaker has received the 1915 automobile tags to be used by owners of automobiles in the city.  Mayor Hawkins stated today that the 1915 license is now due and those not paying up by March 1st will be looked after by the authorities.  The city tags are green with white letters and figures.  This is the first time the tags have been used in Chillicothe and the method was adopted to assist the officers in collecting the license."  As of July 20, 1915, 173 automobiles had registered, receiving plate numbers 101 to 273.

Farmington (2,613)

A 1908 disc exists.

(Independence (9,859)

1912 black-on-yellow large porcelain plates #33 to #42 are known, as are large 1913 and 1914 porcelains and a small 1915 embossed plate.  If a 1911 plate turns up, it could be considered a prestate if issued before August 1.)

Kansas City (248,381)

According to a newspaper article in the Kansas City Star on October 8, 1902, "The legal department of the city is preparing an automobile ordinance which will be introduced in the city council Monday night.  It will put a speed limit upon automobiles within the city, will require the registration of automobiles and the licensing of operators, will require each machine to keep well displayed its registered number..."  The Horseless Age, on November 5, 1902, elaborates that "vehicles must be registered and be provided with a plate bearing the registration number in figures 4 inches high.  Drivers must procure a license; license fee, $3; renewal fee, $1.  Licenses are issued by the Board of Engineers."  This 1902 ordinance must have been cancelled at some point, as The Horseless Age reports on July 6, 1904, that an ordinance was introduced requiring 4-inch-tall license numbers.  The August 31, 1904, issue states that "One hundred and ten automobile licenses have been issued in Kansas City."

A subsequent article in The Horseless Age on September 7, 1904, states that a new ordinance passed on August 29, 1904, mandating 3-inch-tall white figures on a black background on the rear of the vehicle, as well as an operator's license.  A November 23, 1904, article mentions that only two licenses have been taken out in the two months since the ordinance has been in force.  The Horseless Age again reported on June 21, 1905, that despite the ordinance having been passed "about a year ago," only 2 or 3 owners had complied.  Most automobilists objected to the $5 flat tax and sought to get it reduced.  A Kansas City Star article on October 23, 1905, stated that out of about 350 automobiles in the city, only 207 have been "licensed and registered."  This ordinance, which had recently been declared invalid by a judge, had required an annual fee of $5.10 and that numbers be 3 inches tall.  Although the license tax feature remained valid, a third ordinance was hastily drawn up, and passed on December 4, 1905.

Sources fall silent after 1905 until a brief notice in the Kansas City Star on June 5, 1908, stating that "Motor car licenses must first be obtained from the state, as the city is required to recognize the same number.  The city then issues a smaller license tag to go with it."  Finally, the Kansas City Times reported on April 4, 1911, that "The council transacted the following routine business last night:  Ordinance requiring display of city license tags on vehicles.  Passed."  This may have provided for the 1911 plates.

1911 white-on-red large porcelain plates #371 to #3157 are known, as are 1912-13 large porcelains and 1914 small porcelains.

(St. Charles (9,437)

Owner-provided plates are reported c.1910.)

St. Joseph (77,403)

The Horseless Age reports on September 16, 1903, that the automobile license fee is $10, but that a new ordinance is being considered which would reduce it to $3.

A Motorcycle Illustrated article on October 1, 1908, mentions that the city amended its automobile license ordinance on November 8, 1907, to require motorcycles to also take out a license.  Yet, almost a year later, not a single motorcyclist had applied for a license tag although there were about 30 motorcycles in the city.

1913 white-on-black large porcelain plates #58 to #683 and #D-94 are known, as are 1914 large porcelains and 1915 small porcelains.

St. Louis (687,029)

The first ordinance, the earliest in the state, was passed on December 11, 1901, requiring a $10 annual fee and a small city-issued tag similar to what was already being issued to bicycles and horse-drawn vehicles.  The St. Louis Republic reported on December 25, 1901, that "The automobile license plates are not yet ready.  The horseless vehicle licenses that will be issued after January 1, will be the first ever issued by the city."  The 1902 "plates" are reported to be brass oval tags.  The Republic published an announcement on August 23, 1902, with the headline "BIDS FOR LICENSE PLATES" which included details about the 1903 tags:  "The new tags will be made of aluminum.  They will be bell-shaped, with the lettering in red.  About 65,000 license plates will be furnished by the company awarded the contract.  The advertisement calls for the following license plates:  300 automobile, 6,000 bicycle...(etc.)"  This contract was ultimately awarded to the Henry A. Grimm Co., which also won the contracts for 1904, 1905, 1907 and 1908, if not other years as well.

As of May 24, 1903, only 163 had been issued so far, according to the Republic.  Compliance was low due to the difficulty in checking valid registrations by means of such a small tag.  Probably as a result of the new state law which took effect June 23, 1903, the city required owner-provided rear license plates with 3-inch-tall numbers.  This was changed to a large city-issued rear plate effective January 1, 1904, also required on motorcycles despite their size.  One wonders if the bright, standardized new plates were designed in anticipation of the St. Louis World's Fair which was open from April 30 to December 1, 1904.  If so, the city missed out on any advertising value by not including the city name or abbreviation on the new plates.  The plates seem to have been inspired by those issued in Massachusetts and Philadelphia, as evidenced by a St. Louis Globe-Democrat report on September 25, 1903, that "City Register Patrick R. Fitzgibbon...has, since his return from the East, put into use a plan adopted in Boston and other Eastern cities, that of placing the license numbers on the rear of all automobiles.  He is having blue enamel plates made bearing the number in white letters 3 inches high."

The city did issue a special visitor's plate in 1904 (as well as in 1905 and 1906).  An article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on May 4, 1904, stated that "The first visitor's license for an automobile, effective until the close of the Fair, has beeen taken out by Miss Helen Miller Gould, who made the application at the office of the license collector Tuesday [May 3] a few minutes after the first license plates had arrived...The new license plates for visitors have a red enamel background instead of the customary blue and also have the word "visitor" in white letters stamped on one end.  The city receives 50 cents for a license to run an automobile during the Fair, but applicants must post a $5 guarantee that they will not run their machines after the Fair closes.  Regular yearly automobile licenses cost $10."  The $5 deposit was refunded upon return of the plate, making them very rare today.  No 1904 or 1906 plates are known, but a 1905, which was supposed to be white on blue, is known in embossed metal like Chicago plates of the period, #66, with "VISITOR" sideways at left and "1905" sideways at right, and this plate is white on red - possibly repainted?  1906 visitor plates were white on green, verified from a Post-Dispatch article on March 6, 1906, reporting that "The numbers of visiting autos in 1905 were white on blue...but this year they are white on green..."  Visitor plates were still issued in 1907; according to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat on July 27, 1906, they were to be white-on-black, the same colors as the regular plates, but with the legends "Visitor - Automobile - 1907".  Only 100 of these were ordered, compared to 1,200 of the regular plates.  The same paper reported an interesting occurrence on December 22, 1906:  When the unissued 1906 visitor plates were turned in to the City Register to be accounted for, only numbers 82 to 99 were included.  It turned out that plate #100 had been issued to the Mayor as a replacement for his lost regular 1906 plate rather than make him pay $10 for a new plate!

Two colors of regular-issue 1905 plates are known, red and blue, the purpose of which was a mystery for many years.  One color was not meant to represent the visitor series, because a 1905 is known with the word "VISITOR".  The mystery was solved with the discovery of a 1905 news article in Motor Age magazine, Vol. 7, p.12, with the headline "WILL PLAY THE RED":

"Owing to a mistake on the part of the manufacturer of the 1905 St. Louis automobile license, St. Louis motorists are now being put to a considerable inconvenience.  It seems the manufacturer was instructed to make the enameled license tags in red and white so the 1905 license could be readily distinguished from that of last year, which was in blue and white, but that he took it upon himself to suppose a mistake had been made in writing the order, and made the numbers the same as last year.  The city claims that several persons have changed the final figures of last year's numbers instead of buying a new license and for this reason has called in all the blue tags that were issued to some 500 motorists."

A legal case, St. Louis v. Williams, mentions a city ordinance passed on March 19, 1907, (the same day the 1907 state law was passed) which required a city-issued rear plate with 5-inch-tall white numbers on "black or blue signs or plaques of wood, metal or leather, or directly on the machine itself, provided the machine be painted black at this particular place."  Williams was arrested in August 1907 for failing to display a city plate.  The Missouri Supreme Court came down on July 1, 1911, with their judgement in favor of Williams, based on the way the state law was worded.  By this time, the 1907 state law had been repealed by its 1911 successor anyway!

Motorcycles were given full-size automobile plates in 1904.  What was issued in 1905-07 is unknown, but in 1908, smaller motorcycle plates were issued.  The St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported on September 5, 1906, that "City Register Regan yesterday awarded the contract for supplying 64,400 license plates for 1907 licenses to the H. A. Grimm engraving company.  The contract includes 1500 automobile licenses...200 motocycles [sic]...All the plates will be of aluminum except the automobile plates, which will be of steel, with enamel letters and figures."  From the foregoing, it is unclear whether motorcycles were issued small aluminum tags like the horse-drawn vehicles, or if a more substantial type of plate was issued.  According to the Post-Dispatch on January 5, 1909, 158 motorcycle plates had been issued in 1908, and the 1909 motorcycle plates started at #1 just as the automobile plates did.  No St. Louis motorcycle plates are known to have survived, although they were issued at least in 1908-11.

As of 1909, no duplicate plates were issued.  If an owner lost a plate, another number had to be purchased at the full $10 rate.  Discussion ensued to change this but it is unknown if the policy was revised.

Once the new state law took effect on August 1, 1911, the city could not charge the $10 license fee any longer because the law forbade cities from charging more than the state fee, which was a sliding scale from $2 to $12 based on the vehicle's horsepower.  Furthermore, the state law prohibited any other tags to be displayed on the rear of the vehicle other than the state plate.  As a result, St. Louis discontinued issuance of the 1911 city plates on August 1st.  The Post-Dispatch stated on December 27, 1911, that "The city has collected no automobile licenses since the State automobile law went into effect, Aug. 1.  The number of city licenses issued up to that time was 4770."

Another ordinance was passed on February 9, 1912, to change the large city-issued plate to a small disc, and indeed, the 1912 tags are small round porcelains.  A summary of the highest known discs (1902-03) and plates (1904-11) is listed below; all plates are porcelain and started at #1:

1902 Oval brass

1903 Bell brass

1904 White on Blue      #755     (778 issued)

1905 White on Blue      #520, 542, 625, 1465   [1,500 ordered]

     White on Red       #819

1906 White on Yellow   #1169   (1,123 issued)

1907 White on Black    #1902   (1,529 issued)  [1,500 ordered]

1908 White on Red      #1669   (1,919 issued)

1909 White on Black    #2743   (2,823 issued)

1910 White on Blue     #4183   ("just under 4,200" issued)

1911 White on Red      #4480   (4,770 issued)

St. Louis Co. (82,417)

In response to the City of St. Louis' stance that all automobiles which enter the city must obtain the city license and plate, St. Louis County (the portion outside city limits) decided to tax day-trippers who enjoyed venturing out to the relatively rural county roads on weekends.  Two years of porcelain plates are known:

      1906 White on Black  #30 - 647

      1907 White on Blue  #290 - 491

1908-10 porcelain plates have also been reported but are doubtful.

(Springfield (35,201)

A 1912 embossed plate #197 is known with "SPRINGFIELD" at top and "1912" vertically at right.  1912 was the first year that Springfield issued city plates.)

University City (2,417)

A 1911 large porcelain plate #50 is known.