An official website of the United States government                

----

end of header

# History

###### You are here: Census.gov ›  History ›  Home Page Archive › 2017 › August 2017

Skip top of page navigation

                - History Main
                - Agency History                    - Director Biographies
                  - Census Facilities
                  - Suitland, MD
                  - Notable Alumni
                - Innovations                    - Data Collection
                  - Technology
                - Programs                    - Agriculture
                  - Demographic
                  - Housing
                  - Economic
                  - Geography
                  - Governments
                - Through the Decades                    - Fast Facts
                  - Overview
                  - Index of Questions
                  - Questionnaires
                  - Census Instructions
                - Genealogy                    - Decennial Census Records
                  - Other Resources
                - Reference                    - Data@Museums
                  - Artifacts
                  - Lesson Plans
                  - Legislation
                  - Maps
                  - Oral Histories
                  - Privacy & Confidentiality
                  - Apportionment
                  - Publications 
                - Home Page Archive                    - 2024
                  - 2023
                  - 2022
                  - 2021
                  - 2020
                  - 2019
                  - 2018
                  - 2017
                  - 2016
                  - 2015
                  - 2014 
                - FAQs                    - Genealogy
                  - Agency History
                  - Demographic
                  - Economic
                  - Governments
                  - Agriculture
                  - Geography
                  - Innovations
                  - Miscellaneous

### 2017

### Also in this Section:

                          - December 2017
                          - November 2017
                          - October 2017
                          - September 2017
                          - August 2017
                          - July 2017
                          - June 2017
                          - May 2017
                          - April 2017
                          - March 2017
                          - February 2017
                          - January 2017

## August 2017

----

### Visit *https://www.census.gov/history* every month for the latest Census History Home Page!

----

### U.S. Census Bureau History: Ransom E. Olds

             The 1905 song "In My Merry Oldsmobile" about young lovers driving theircurved dash Olds remains a popular automobile song today.  The songcontinues to be featured in movies and television and is one of the songsvisitors hear when visiting Disneyland and Disney World's Main Street USA.Photo courtesy of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Libraryat Duke University.

On August 21, 1897, Ransom E. Olds founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, MI.  Between 1897 and 2004, the company (acquired by General Motors in 1908) produced more than 35 million cars.

Ransom E. Olds was born in Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH, in 1864.  When Ransom was a child, the family moved to Cleveland, OH, before settling in Lansing, MI.  In September 1896, Olds applied for a patent for a gasoline-powered automobile (Patent Number 594,338) and founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in 1897 to manufacture it.  In 1901, he introduced the "Curved Dash" Oldsmobile that would help Olds Motor Vehicle Company become the top-selling automaker in the United States in the early 1900s.

In its 107-years history, Oldsmobile's quality and reliability helped make the brand popular among consumers.  Along with the popular "Curved Dash" Olds, the company also introduced a number of popular models and innovative features, including windshields as a standard feature in 1915, the 4-speed Hydra-Matic transmission—the first automatic transmission—in 1940, and the V-8 "Rocket 88" engine.  (With the help of record producer Sam Phillips, Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats immortalized the Rocket 88 in one of rock-and-roll's first hit songs in 1951.)  Oldsmobile produced the "Rocket 88"—later known as the "Eighty Eight"—from 1949 to 1998.  During that time, Oldsmobile also built the first mass-produced front-wheel drive automobile (the 1966 Toronado) and introduced driver side air bags (1974).

In the years 1977–1980 and 1984–1986, Oldsmobile sold more than 1 million automobiles.  It was second in automobile production behind Chevrolet in 1983 and 1985, thanks to its top-selling Cutlass models.  In December 2000, General Motors announced it would end Oldsmobile production due to declining sales and corporate restructuring.  Oldsmobile workers in Lansing, MI, produced the last Oldsmobile—an Alero GLS 4-door sedan—on April 29, 2004.

Thousands of Oldsmobiles still travel our nation's roads and are displayed and preserved by organizations like the R. E. Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing, MI, and the General Motors Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, MI.  You can learn more about Ransom E. Olds and automobile manufacturing using data and records collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies.  For example:
                        - In 1897, when  Ransom E. Olds  founded his automobile company, the Census Bureau reported that automobile manufacturers produced  1,200  motor vehicles.  In 10 years, the number of registered motor vehicles in the U.S. rose from  2,100  to  142,061 ; and in 25 years, there were 12,238,375 registered motor vehicles on American roads.
                        - Two years after the 1897 founding of the Olds Motor Vehicle Company,  William McKinley  became the first American president to ride in an automobile—a "Stanley Steamer" driven by  Freelan Stanley .  McKinley also was the first president to ride in an electric motor vehicle—the ambulance that carried him to the  Pan-American Exposition's  hospital after he was shot on  September 6, 1901 .
                        - In 1900, the Census Bureau reported that manufacturers produced  5,000 motor vehicles  and there were 8,000 registered vehicles in the United States.  In 1908, the year  Henry Ford  began producing the Model T, manufacturers produced 65,000 motor vehicles.  There were  197,500  registered motor vehicles on American roads.  By 1927, the United States was home to  17,593,677  registered motor vehicles.  In 2014, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that there was  260,350,938  total registered motor vehicles on American roads, including passenger vehicles, motorcycles, and commercial vehicles.
                        - Business man  William C. Durant  formed General Motors in  Flint, MI , on September 16, 1908.  General Motors purchased Oldsmobile later that year, and soon added other brands, including Cadillac, Oakland (later Pontiac), and Chevrolet.  Oldsmobile was part of the General Motors lineup until its production ended in 2004.
                        - The  1930 Census  counted  Ransom Olds  and his wife  Metta  twice.  First at their  Daytona Beach, FL , rental home overlooking the Halifax River on April 4, 1930, and again a few days later at their other home in  Lansing, MI .  In 1930, the population of Daytona Beach, FL, was  16,598 , and Lansing, MI, was home to  78,397 .  Today, the two cities have populations of  66,645  and  116,020 , respectively.
                        - Ransom Olds  and his wife Metta Woodward were born 3 days apart in June 1864.  Ransom died on August 26, 1950, in  Lansing, MI .  His wife followed him in death just one week later on September 2, 1950.  They are buried in Lansing's  Mount Hope Cemetery .
                        - Oldsmobile produced the last Oldsmobile—an Alero GLS 4-door sedan—on April 29, 2004.  Initially displayed at the  R.E. Olds Transportation Museum    in  Lansing, MI , it now resides at the  GM Heritage Center    in  Sterling Heights, MI .
                        - According to March 2016  Current Employment Statistics  data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, motor vehicle and parts industries accounted for  923,500  jobs in the manufacturing sector (NAICS 31–33).  Automobile dealerships and automotive parts stores accounted for nearly  4 million jobs  in the retail sector (NAICS 44–45).

Ransom E. Olds left Oldsmobile in 1904 and founded the REO Motor Car Company in August 1904 (pictured above).By 1907, the REO factory in Lansing, MI, was one of the top four automobile manufacturing companies in theUnited States.REO stopped manufacturing automobiles in 1936 to focus solely upon commercial truck manufacturing.  Followingpost-World War II mergers, the company filed for bankruptcy in 1975.  Today, the REO brand name is owned bySwedish manufacturer Volvo.Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Parks Service.View larger imageLansing, MIRansom E. Olds founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, MI, 3 years before the 1900 Census.Between 1890 and 1900, Lansing's population grew 25.8 percent to 16,485.Lansing grew rapidly until 1970, when its population peaked at 131,546.  In 2016, the Census Bureau estimated the city had a population of 116,020, a 1.5 percent increase from 2010.Photo courtesy of the State of Michigan.View larger imageThis Month in Census History
On August 2, 1790, 650 U.S. Marshals and their assistants began conducting the 1790 Census.  Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson reported that the nation's population was 3,929,214.To commemorate the announcement of the new nation's first census, merchants in Liverpool, England, produced souvenirs (like the creamware pitcher pictured above) for the American market.
Did You Know?
The "Curved Dash Oldsmobile" was the first mass produced gasoline-powered automobile to outsell its steam- or electric-powered rivals.  Oldsmobile built more automobiles in 1903 (approximately 4,000) than any other American automobile manufacturer.In 1903, Oldsmobile sponsored an attempt to complete the first coast-to-coast automobile trip, but was beaten by Horatio Nelson Jackson and his 1903 Winton.Jackson'Ras 4,500 mile, San Francisco, CA to New York City, NY, journey took 63 days to complete!
**Visit *https://www.census.gov/history* every month for the latest Census History Home Page!**~~~~[an error occurred while processing this directive]  This symbol  indicates a link to a non-government web site.  Our linking to these sites does not constitute an endorsement of any products, services or the information found on them. Once you link to another site you are subject to the policies of the new site.CONNECT WITH US**********- Information Quality
- Data Linkage Infrastructure
- Data Protection and Privacy Policy
- Accessibility
- FOIA
- Inspector General
- No FEAR Act
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- USA.gov

Measuring America's People, Places, and Economy
✕Is this page helpful?YesNo✕NO THANKS255 characters maximum255 characters maximum reached✕Thank you for your feedback.Comments or suggestions?   Source: U.S. Census Bureau | Census History Staff |  Last Revised: December 14, 2023