OZARK TRUCK

Midland Motor Car & Truck Co. (1917-1918)

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

This is believed to be an Ozark truck radiator emblem (c1917-1918)  mjs
Size: 73mm wide 23mm high   MM: Fox

In June 1917 a group of businessmen from Oklahoma City headed by James M Aydelotte of the State Board of Affairs, and Floyd Thompson of the Ozark Trails Highway Association, formed the Midland Motor Car & Truck Company. The plan was to build a manufacturing plant in Oklahoma City and produce the Oklahoma Six passenger car and a truck called the Ozark. 

The Oklahoma Six and the Ozark truck were designed as assembled vehicles using well tried standard components. The Ozark truck was advertised as a two-ton capacity truck with the same specifications as other trucks then being purchased by the US Government for the war effort. The Company planned to produce three Oklahoma Six cars and seven Ozark trucks trucks each day, but, due to the demand for trucks for the war effort, the main effort of the Company was stated to be the Ozark truck. 

Midland Motor Car & Truck Company advertisements in 1917 and early 1918 show illustrations of the Ozark truck. A few prototype Ozark trucks at least are believed to have been produced to secure a US Government contract.

The US entry into the First World War delayed the start of full production. By about May 1918, the Oklahoma  and Ozark names had been replaced in advertising by "Midland" and, by October 1918, Midland trucks began to be built under contract for the US Army (see Midland Car & Truck). The Company was reorganized after the end of the war due in part to financial mismanagement. The US Army contract was cancelled and truck production ceased in 1919.

Emblem

Midland Motor Car & Truck Company advertisements in 1917 and 1918 include illustrations of the Ozark truck, although the front of the radiator is not shown, see examples shown below: 

Ozark truck ad (Nov 1917) oklahoma city times

Ozark truck advertisement illustration (1917)

Ozark truck ad (Mar 1918) daily ardmorette

Ozark truck advertisement illustration (1918)

The blue enamel Ozark emblem shown above at the top of this post was found in Oklahoma City together with a Midland radiator emblem and is believed to be an Ozark truck radiator emblem. If this is indeed an Ozark truck radiator emblem, it is ultra rare.