Featured Photos: Reed Brothers Service Dept circa 1960
Service Area
This photo of the inside of Reed Brothers Dodge service area was taken circa 1960. At the time this photo was taken, the dealership was located at the intersection of Veirs Mill Road and Rockville Pike.
Along the back wall inside the service area is the entrance to the new car showroom, parts counter and the cashier’s window. The new car showroom and service department were connected by large double doors, which was how new cars were moved in and out of the showroom. Above the cashier’s window is a small door that opened into the parts department storage area for the stock of tires. Reed Brothers was also a Goodyear tire retailer.
The roof is supported by steel trusses, which keep the entire floor free of pillars and makes the movement of cars easier. Also, most of the light for the area is provided by skylights and windows.
Rear entrance to the Service Department on what is now known as “Dodge Street”
Sales and Service Departments on the corner of Rockville Pike and Dodge Street
Oct 1915: Where It All Started
This photograph of the original 1915 Rockville Garage shows a 1916 model 44 Oldsmobile with V8 and sedan body parked in front. The original owners of Rockville Garage are standing in front. From left: Roy Warfield – Lewis Reed – Griffith Warfield. (click on photo to enlarge)
This is where it all began, 99 years ago in October of 1915. Reed Brothers was franchised as a Dodge dealership and service facility in October 1915, only one year after the first Dodge automobile was made. In 1914, Lewis Reed became a partner in Rockville Garage with Robert L. and Griffith Warfield. The Warfield brothers had purchased this building in July 1915, from Lee Ricketts and Sons who had the Overland Agency. The business continued to operate under the old name until it was changed at the suggestion of the late Judge Edward Peter shortly after Edgar Reed joined his brother.
Lewis Reed’s Rockville Garage sold more than just Dodges. During the early years, Reed Brothers represented several franchise nameplates along with Dodge, including Oldsmobile, Hudson and Essex. The Hudson and Oldsmobile were sold at Reed Brothers from roughly 1917 through 1921.
In 1930. Reed Brothers added the Plymouth line. The first Plymouth was built in 1928 and Plymouths were sold at Reed Brothers until 1969, when the brand was given to the Chrysler dealers.
The actual story of how Lewis Reed was chosen for a Dodge Brothers Motor Car franchise is lost, but his legacy continued until 2009 as the oldest Dodge dealership under the same family ownership in Maryland, and one of the oldest in the entire nation.
1976 Showroom & Car Lot
A 1976 Dodge Charger displayed on showroom floor
I found these two gems while looking through some of my old photo albums. The top photo shows what appears to be a 1976 Dodge Charger displayed on the showroom floor at Reed Brothers. Usually, the flashiest of the new models, spit-shined to perfection, would be displayed inside the showroom. Banners touting the new models were also strung up in the showroom.
In the second photo, nothing screams 1970s like the line of beige and baby blue cars all lined up in rows on the side lot. Across the road is the big barn that said, “MILK FOR THOMPSON’S DAIRY” on the field that is now the new urban development known as King Farm. I remember Lawson King’s dairy cows. Lots of them! They used to graze in the fields just a few feet from the roadway right across the road. At its peak, King Farm was the largest milk producer in the area and had been in agricultural use for nearly 75 years before it was approved for development in 1996.
Cars lined up awaiting prospective buyers
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Copyright Notice
Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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