Here’s a major manufacturer in the golden age of the Motor City you may not know: the mighty Federal truck.

The Motor City gave birth to countless automobile manufacturers, but there were numerous truck makers, too—perhaps none prouder than the Federal Motor Truck Company of 1910-59. Founded in the summer of 1910 as the Bailey Motor Truck Co. by Martin L. Pulcher, who had helped to form the Oakland Motor Car Co. in 1907, the company was renamed Federal only weeks later. A factory was set up on Leavitt Street in Southwest Detroit next to the Michigan Central Railroad line, and the company flourished. In the boom times up to 700 people worked at Federal, producing as many as 3500 trucks per year. The sprawling plant boasted a 600-ft assembly line and in 1924, the city of Detroit officially changed the name of Leavitt Street to Federal Street.

While Federal built trucks of nearly every type and size over the years, and for every conceivable use, it was best known for its big extreme-duty trucks. Diamond T is frequently mentioned as a chief competitor. Continental, Waukesha, and Hercules provided the massive four and six-cylinder gasoline engines, followed later by Cummins JT and HB diesels. In the early ’20s, Federal produced a line of delivery trucks powered by Willys-Knight sleeve-valve engines and marketed as the Federal Knight.

In an ambitious step for an independent truck producer, Federal manufactured its own cabs, and in both standard and deluxe sizes, at a time when most truck makers bolted on generic cabs from the body suppliers. To compete head-on with the big automakers, Federal later (1950) introduced its Style Liner cab design with seating for three abreast and Detroit-style design touches.

In World War II, Federal produced more than 10,000 vehicles for the U.S. military, many of them highly specialized severe-duty trucks for naval yards and airfields. After the war, the company enjoyed a sales boom and was acquired by Fawick, makers of the Airflex air-operated clutch. Fawick soon discovered it knew nothing about manufacturing complete trucks and in 1954 sold the company to Northwestern Auto Parts Company, better known as NAPCO. The four-wheel drive supplier shut down the Detroit assembly line and moved Federal production to its base in Minneapolis, but the new enterprise wilted quickly and the Federal truck line was discontinued for good in 1959.

As recently as seven or eight years ago, as we recall it, there were remnants of the old plant on Federal Street still standing, but the last time we looked, there didn’t seem to be much of anything left. But if you drive a few miles west over to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, you can find a stellar example of the Federal truck on display: a 1952 Model 45M semi-tractor in signal orange, complete with 1946 Freuhauf semi-trailer. Photo below courtesy of The Henry Ford.