Jay Byron Rhodes (1865-1931)
19th Century Inventive Genius
Jay B. Rhodes, Kalamazoo Gazette , 29 Jan 1928 Kalamazoo has long been a hotbed for creative, inventive people. One could fill several volumes with all the devices that have been designed and patented by Kalamazoo people. One such person of particular interest was Jay B. Rhodes, whose inventions ran the gamut from automobile accessories to railroad machinery to fishing lures. A few of his inventions received significant worldwide recognition.
Except for the few years he spent working in Chicago, Jay Byron Rhodes was a lifelong Kalamazoo guy. The son of David and Abagal (Slack) Rhodes, Jay Rhodes was born in March 1865 and raised on the family farm in Oshtemo Township, along West KL Avenue near 4th Street. His early life seemed fairly typical for a boy in his day and age, although his mother later admitted, “Jay is always fussing over making something” (Our Line ).
Rhodes began to exercise his inventive genius while he was still quite young. In 1878 he moved to Kalamazoo to study the tool and die business and learn how to be a machinist. The 13-year-old Rhodes created a device that balanced the load between a team of horses in the field. He crafted his own pocket watch from some scrap parts and designed a garden seed thresher for separating seeds from the chaff. Rhodes later worked for a number of years as a mechanical engineer for the Austin Manufacturing Company in Chicago and the Western Wheeled Scraper Company in Aurora, Illinois, and was employed as a foreman for a time by the St. John Plow Company in Kalamazoo.
“Steam Road Wagon”
One of his earliest contrivances was a “steam road wagon” that he hoped would transport pleasure seekers back and forth between Kalamazoo and Gull Lake during the 1890s. His vehicle, believed to be one of the first automobiles ever built in Kalamazoo, never quite made the grade, however, as “his snorting speed wagon always ran itself out of breath inside of three blocks.” Rhodes himself later admitted that his “steam road wagon was likely to blow up any minute—but of course, no one knew it but me.” Despite its misgivings, Rhodes was proud of his creation. “The crowds cheered,” he said, “when they saw the contraption moved—and moved fast” (Gazette ).
“Machine for Making and Repairing Roads,” J.B. Rhodes. No. 724,042, 31 March 1903. United States Patent Office Patent Protection
“Fish Bait or Lure,” J.B. Rhodes, No. 803,134, 1905. United States Patent Office Rhodes received patent protection for nearly 250 devices during his lifetime. He’s the guy who invented the glass oil dispenser jars that were once a familiar sight at automobile filling stations across the country. Rhodes came up with the idea while he was working at the filling station that once stood at the corner of Douglas Avenue and West North Street.
Rhodes was just 19 years old when he received his first patent, a rotary engine “developed on the principle of the present day steam turbine” (Gazette ). Other patents soon followed: a street sprinkler, a rotary device for crushing grain, a gyrating stone crusher, well drilling machinery, a road scraper, a steering linkage for wagons, a time clock, a device for sharpening razor blades, an automobile odometer, and numerous other tools and gadgets.
For a couple of years after the turn of the 20th century, Rhodes operated the Kalamazoo Fishing Tackle Company, which produced a variety of fishing lures. Most notable among its products was a mechanical swimming frog, which he later sold to the Shakespeare company. Jay’s brother, Bert O. Rhodes, and nephew, Fred D. Rhodes, were also inventors, who shared Jay’s passion for fishing and bait design. Both received patents for fishing lures and reels, while Bert later patented designs for automobile components and accessories.
“J.B. Rhodes, one of the best machinists in the country, is the inventor of a frog that the fish will travel many miles up a rocky stream to nibble at. He has pending some designs and expects to get patents on two or more reels.”
—Kalamazoo Gazette , 9 August 1906
“Route Indicator,” J.B. Rhodes. No. 1,005,474, 10 October 1911. United States Patent Office “Road Guides for Autos”
Before the establishment of highway signs and road mile markers, Rhodes came up with a “route indicator” device that connected to an automobile like a speedometer and would notify the driver when it was time to turn. The indicator would “ring the gong at the points set for turns as fast as the speedometer cable informs them that the stipulated mileage has been covered” (Gazette ).
Around 1910, Rhodes established the J.B. Rhodes Company on West North Street to manufacture his “road guides for autos.” The former Rhodes building stood near the corner of Douglas Avenue and North Street, next to the filling station where he once worked. The buildings remained until 2015 when they were razed to make way for possible future development.
“I spent $25,000 on that invention and did not get any financial benefit, as the road guide cost too much for the average motorist, and the state or automobile clubs began to put up road signs, so that by the time I had developed my road guide there was really no need for its use.”
—Jay B. Rhodes, Kalamazoo Gazette , 18 October 1931
“Dump cars” in use during construction near Mattawan, 1905. Courtesy, Charlie Brock & Dick Roberts, Van Buren County Historical Museum “Dump Cars”
Perhaps Rhodes’ most noteworthy invention, and one for which he received worldwide recognition, was his patented dumping mechanism for railroad cars. A line of these specially fitted railroad “air dump cars” could be emptied of their contents in seconds and were especially useful for roadbuilding. Rhodes traveled a dozen times or more to Central America and spent months in the Canal Zone where these cars were used extensively during the construction of the Panama Canal. The device was also used by the Allies while building railroads during the First World War. His “dump wagons” of similar design were later used in Kalamazoo by the local street cleaning crews.
“J.B. Rhodes will leave today for New York, whence he will sail on Friday for Panama, on the steamship ‘Panama,’ with a consignment of 200 dump cars for use in the canal construction work. This will make 800 of the cars that he has taken to the isthmus.”
—Kalamazoo Gazette , 7 January 1909
Digging the spillway at Gatun Dam, Panama Canal Zone. Keystone View Co., c1910. Library of Congress Rhodes traveled extensively throughout his lifetime, and he especially enjoyed the great outdoors. An enthusiastic sportsman, he loved to hunt, fish, and walk the fields with his pointer, Rip Rap. Jay B. Rhodes passed away at his home on Douglas Avenue in October 1931 at the age of 66. He was buried at Mountain Home Cemetery .
Written by Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, April 2025
Sources
Books
The Kalamazoo automobilist : 1891-1991
Jay B. Rhodes, Kalamazoo inventor
Kalamazoo’s extraordinary inventor, Jay B. Rhodes 1865-1931
Articles
“New fish bait on the market” Kalamazoo Gazette , 2 November 1905, page 9, column 2
“Uncle Sam’s paying deal” Kalamazoo Gazette , 7 February 1906, page 7, column 2
“Local inventors enemies of fish” Kalamazoo Gazette , 9 August 1906, page 4, column 3
“Rhodes off for Panama” Kalamazoo Gazette , 7 January 1909, page 3, column 2
“Inventor sells patent” Kalamazoo Gazette , 25 April 1909, page 3, column 2
“Jay Rhodes, Kalamazoo inventor, startled local people in nineties…” Kalamazoo Gazette , 29 January 1928, page 12, column 1
“Jay B. Rhodes, noted inventor, dies suddenly” Kalamazoo Gazette , 12 October 1931, page 1, column 2
“Late J. B. Rhodes had new version of historic Roosevelt-Taft tift” Kalamazoo Gazette , 18 October 1931, page 5, column 2
“The Rhodes of Kalamazoo”
Local History Room Files
Name File: Rhodes, Jay B.
Patents
J.B. Rhodes. Rotary engine. (No Model.) No. 414,255. Patented 5 Nov 1889.
J.B. Rhodes. Workman’s time register. (No Model.) No. 432,562. Patented 22 July 1890.
J.B. Rhodes. Steam pump. (No Model.) No. 565,391. Patented 4 August 1896.
Jay Byron Rhodes & Joseph Franklin Phillips. Steam pump. No. 53821A (Canada). Patented 17 Oct 1896.
Jay Byron Rhodes. Steam actuated valve. No. 63411A (Canada). Patented 8 July 1899.
Jay Byron Rhodes. Steam engine. No. 63412A (Canada). Patented 8 July 1899.
J.B. Rhodes. Street sprinkler. No. 636,846. Patented 14 Nov 1899.
J.B. Rhodes. Loose pulley lubricator. No. 33092A (Canada). Patented 9 Dec 1899.
J.B. Rhodes. Steam or other fluid actuated valve. No. 639,288. Patented 19 Dec 1899.
J.B. Rhodes. Sprinkler. No. 639,289. Patented 19 Dec 1899.
J.B. Rhodes. Rotating device for rotary drills. No. 644,638. Patented 6 Mar 1900.
J.B. Rhodes. Bag carrying cart. No. 646,010. Patented 27 Mar 1900.
J.B. Rhodes. Dumping car. No. 653,314. Patented 10 July 1900.
J.B. Rhodes. Fluid actuated valve. No. 655,737. Patented 14 Aug 1900.
J.B. Rhodes. Dumping car. No. 657,618. Patented 11 Sep 1900.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 682,343. Patented 10 Sep 1901.
J.B. Rhodes. Wagon or other vehicle. No. 686,537. Patented 12 Nov 1901.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 686,763. Patented 19 Nov 1901.
J.B. Rhodes. Impact tool. No. 687,851. Patented 3 Dec 1901.
Jay Byron Rhodes. Dumping wagon. No. 714,239. Patented 25 Nov 1902.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 723,920. Patented 31 Mar 1903.
J.B. Rhodes. Dumping car. No. 723,921. Patented 31 Mar 1903.
J.B. Rhodes. Bicycle attachment. No. 762,558. Patented 14 June 1904.
F.D. Rhodes. Fish bait or lure. No. 777,488. Patented 13 Dec 1904.
J.B. Rhodes. Fluid actuated valve. No. 785,918. Patented 28 Mar 1905.
J.B. Rhodes. Fish bait or lure. No. 803,134. Patented 31 Oct 1905.
J.B. Rhodes. Fish bait. No. 97,380 (Canada). Patented 6 Feb 1906.
B.O. Rhodes. Fish bait or lure. No. 824,817. Patented 3 July 1906.
B.O. Rhodes. Fish line reel. No. 828,969. Patented 21 Aug 1906.
J.B. Rhodes. Gyratory crusher. No. 839,891. Patented 1 Jan 1907.
J.B. Rhodes. Draft rigging for elevating graders. No. 863,880. Patented 20 Aug 1907.
J.B. Rhodes. Artificial bait. No. 882,344. Patented 17 Mar 1908.
J.B. & B.O. Rhodes. Machine for making and repairing roads. (No Model.) No. 724,042. Patented 31 Mar 1908.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 918,911. Patented 20 Apr 1909.
B.O. Rhodes. Universal joint. No. 923,443. Patented 1 June 1909.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 940,893. Patented 23 Nov 1909.
J.B. Rhodes. Gyratory crusher. No. 945,806. Patented 11 Jan 1910.
J.B. Rhodes. Route indicator. No. 951,966. Patented 15 Mar 1910.
J.B. Rhodes. Route indicator. No. 125,540 (Canada). Patented 10 May 1910.
J.B. Rhodes. Route indicator. No. 125,541 (Canada). Patented 10 May 1910.
J.B. Rhodes. Route indicator. No. 1,005,474. Patented 10 Oct 1911.
B.O. Rhodes. Route indicator. No. 1,010,802. Patented 5 Dec 1911.
J.B. Rhodes. Route indicator. No. 1,021,889. Patented 2 Apr 1912.
B.O. Rhodes. Universal joint. No. 1,040,417. Patented 8 Oct 1912.
J.B. Rhodes. Odometer. No. 1,047,566. Patented 17 Dec 1912.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 1,103,314. Patented 14 July 1914.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car support. No. 1,108,237. Patented 25 Aug 1914.
Jay Byron Rhodes. Dump car. No. 163,425A (Canada). Patented 22 June 1915.
Jay Byron Rhodes. Dump car. No. 165,627A (Canada). Patented 26 Oct 1915.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 1,161,159. Patented 23 Nov 1915.
Jay Byron Rhodes. Dump car. No. 166,691A (Canada). Patented 21 Dec 1915.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 1,168,420. Patented 18 Jan 1916.
B.O. Rhodes. Universal joint. No. 1,204,190. Patented 7 Nov 1916.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 1,245,382. Patented 6 Nov 1917.
Jay Byron Rhodes. Dump car. No. 1,256,163. Patented 12 Feb 1918.
Jay Byron Rhodes. Dump car. No. 1,256,164. Patented 12 Feb 1918.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 1,294,832. Patented 18 Feb 1919.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 1,318,692. Patented 14 Oct 1919.
J.B. Rhodes. Lure or decoy. No. 1,321,850. Patented 18 Nov 1919.
O.E. Moats, J.B. Rhodes and J.D. Benbow. Grading machine. No. 1,357,245. Patented 2 Nov 1920.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 1,357,251. Patented 2 Nov 1920.
J.B. Rhodes. Dump car. No. 1,361,904. Patented 14 Dec 1920.
J.B. Rhodes. Dispensing can. No. 1,403,636. Patented 17 Jan 1922.
J.B. Rhodes. Dispensing can. No. 1,403,637. Patented 17 Jan 1922.
J.B. Rhodes. Shipping case and tray. No. 1,431,255. Patented 10 Oct 1922.
J.B. Rhodes. Dispensing can. No. 225,325A (Canada). Patented 31 Oct 1922.
J.B. Rhodes. Dispensing can. No. 225,326A (Canada). Patented 31 Oct 1922.
J.B. Rhodes. Valve mechanism for dump cars. No. 1,466,342. Patented 28 Aug 1923.
J.B. Rhodes. Road grading machine. No. 1,601,510. Patented 28 Sep 1926.
B.O. Rhodes. Dispensing receptacle. No. 1,648,029. Patented 8 Nov 1927. Assigned to J.B. Rhodes Co.
B.O. Rhodes. Dispensing receptacle. No. 1,667,821. Patented 1 May 1928. Assigned to J.B. Rhodes Co.
B.O. Rhodes. Dispensing can. No. 1,667,822. Patented 1 May 1928. Assigned to J.B. Rhodes Co.
J.B. Rhodes. Sharpening device for safety razor blades and the like. No. 1,829,016. Patented 27 Oct 1931.
J.B. Rhodes. Sharpening device for safety razor blades and the like. No. 1,829,060. Patented 27 Oct 1931.
J.B. Rhodes. Sharpening device for safety razor blades. No. 1,829,061. Patented 27 Oct 1931.
J.B. Rhodes. Safety razor and blade therefor. No. 1,840,056. Patented 5 Jan 1932.