Horace (left, rear) and John Dodge (right, rear) shown in the first Dodge Model 30-35 on November 14, 1914 marking the beginning of the Dodge Brothers automobile legacy.

In 1914, the Dodge Brothers, John and Horace, made automotive history when they introduced their first automobile: the Dodge Model 30-35. What began as a bold move from building parts for Henry Ford’s Model T to designing a car of their own would forever change the American automobile industry, and soon after, shape the legacy of a small family dealership in Rockville, Maryland known as Reed Brothers Dodge.

The Car That Started It All

Before the Dodge Brothers built their own car, they were already well-known in Detroit as trusted machinists and suppliers of quality automobile parts. Their reputation for precision and durability earned them a major role in producing engines, transmissions, and axles for the Ford Motor Company. But by 1913, the brothers were ready to make their mark under their own name.

Interestingly, Lewis Reed shared that same mechanical foundation. The 1910 U.S. Census lists a 23-year-old Lewis Reed working as a machinist in Montgomery County, Maryland, developing the same kind of technical skill and hands-on craftsmanship that defined the Dodge Brothers’ early success. Like John and Horace Dodge, Reed’s mechanical aptitude and curiosity about the emerging world of automobiles would soon set him on an entrepreneurial path of his own.

When the Dodge Brothers Model 30-35 debuted in November 1914, it was a sensation. Unlike the bare-bones Ford Model T, the Dodge offered steel body construction instead of wood, an electric starter and lights, a 12-volt electrical system (twice the voltage of most competitors), and a powerful 35-horsepower engine. It was marketed as “the dependable Dodge,” and it lived up to that promise: rugged, reliable, and beautifully built.

Priced slightly higher than the Model T, the Dodge appealed to middle-class buyers who wanted quality and innovation without extravagance. Within a year, Dodge was the fourth-largest car manufacturer in the United States.

A New Dealership Takes Root in Rockville

That same year, in 1915, Lewis Reed, a young man from Rockville, Maryland, saw an opportunity in the rapidly growing automobile market. He became one of the nation’s first Dodge Brothers dealers, founding what would become Reed Brothers Dodge.

Operating out of a modest garage at the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike, Lewis Reed began selling and servicing the new Dodge automobiles. His timing could not have been better: America was embracing the automobile, and the Dodge Brothers’ new car was among the most sought-after models on the road.

Lewis’s brother Edgar Reed joined the business a few years later, in 1919, helping expand operations as the dealership grew. Together, the Reed brothers built a family business grounded in service, honesty, and the same “dependable” spirit that defined the Dodge brand.

Lewis Reed, an early automobile enthusiast and skilled photographer, documented much of those early years. His images of the original Dodge touring cars, early showrooms, and Rockville’s unpaved roads offer a rare and fascinating glimpse into the dawn of motoring in Montgomery County.

A Legacy of Dependability

From that first 1914 Dodge to the final vehicles sold under the Reed Brothers Dodge name nearly a century later, the same spirit of innovation and reliability endured. Both the Dodge Brothers and the Reed Brothers shared a philosophy rooted in craftsmanship, honesty, and community, a partnership that would last through generations.

Today, the story of the Dodge Brothers’ first car and the birth of Reed Brothers Dodge stands as a testament to American ingenuity and small-town enterprise: two brothers in Detroit who built a car that made history, and two brothers in Rockville who helped keep that history alive.