Bicycles in Kalamazoo

Velocipedes, High-Wheelers, and “Safety” Bicycles

“In Paris, the great subject of conversation is of inventions to increase the rapidity of travel. Paris also indulges itself in the velocipede, a machine which will some day come into general use among country gentlemen not averse to light exercise. Perhaps this fashion also will one day come over to us.”

—Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph, 17 July 1868

Velocipedes and High Wheelers

Miss Jennie Peterson, “the accomplished lady velocipedist” from the Hanlon brothers’ velocipede school in New York, rolled into town on Monday, 14 June 1869, for an evening performance at Kalamazoo’s Union Hall, where she demonstrated her abilities in “a variety of elegant and appropriate costumes on the two wheeled bicycle.” Most Kalamazooans had never seen anything like it.

A month later, Dr. James L. Thayer’s Great Circus brought its menagerie of lions, mules, and “the fearless and beautiful Equestrienne” to the streets of Kalamazoo. A key feature of Thayer’s spectacle was “a grand bicycle velocipede exhibition race, by Messrs. Reynolds and Kelly, showing the ease, celerity and skill by which these novel and ingenuous articles of locomotion can be propelled and managed by any person” (Telegraph). Such were the first documented appearances of the bicycle in our fair city.

“The bicycle is rapidly being recognized as a thing of practical utility, as well as a means of rational amusement. It is, in fact, an ever saddled horse, that eats nothing and requires no care. And it doesn’t kick nor run away.”

—Kalamazoo Telegraph, 8 May 1880

Those early bicycles (velocipedes) were cumbersome and took a great deal of strength to maneuver, so they saw limited use until the development of the high wheeler in the 1870s. Among the first in Kalamazoo to be seen operating their own two-wheeler was a Kalamazoo College student named Edwards, who caused quite a stir as he navigated the city streets aboard his “penny-farthing” high wheeler. As a reporter from the Kalamazoo Telegraph observed, “he seems to glide along gracefully, swiftly, and with apparent ease.”

“Safety” Bicycles

By the 1890s, the “safety” bicycle with its medium-size wheels and chain drive had replaced the penny farthing (high wheeler), and the sport of bicycling had become all the rage. Arthur Prentice, son of furniture dealer Horace Prentice, was the first Kalamazooan to own a safety bicycle, but many others soon followed.

In those days, Park, Rose, Burdick, South, West Main, and Water streets were the smoothest thoroughfares in town and thus became favorites for daytime and evening rides. For those who relished the thrill of a good long coast, the hills on Asylum Avenue (Oakland Drive) and West Main Street were just the ticket, while the especially smooth surface of Water Street made it a favorite avenue for racing. In fact, by 1896, bicycle racing had become so popular as to warrant the construction of a new quarter-mile plank track near North Street, where thousands gathered to watch the races.

Bicycle Suits

Clothing merchants stocked up on the latest fashions geared for the “wheel” crowd. Bicycle socks, suits, sweaters, belts, gloves, and “ventilated bicycle caps” could be had at H.B. Fisher’s store on Main Street. Wentworth’s store on West Main featured a complete “genial, well fitting cycle suit” with coat, pants, loose belt, sweaters, and cap. J.F. Muffley’s shoe store on South Burdick Street kept local cyclists supplied with a fine selection of footwear, including Fargo’s ball bearing shoes, Rice & Hutchins’ canvas and oxford “wheel shoes,” and ladies’ cloth top and linen top “bike boots.” Among the largest clothing suppliers in town was Sam Folz, “The Excelsior One-Price Clothier,” who featured a full line of jersey and stockinette bicycle suits in black, blue, brown, gray, and cadet.

“Wheels!”

By 1896, there were dozens of bicycle repair shops and dealers around the city with all the latest brands. The Edwards & Chamberlin hardware company offered “high grade wheels” by Crescent, Caycycle, Eldridge, Featherstone, Imperial, Racycle, Tally-Ho, and Dayton. The Michigan Buggy Company featured Garland bicycles, while Raynor & Company offered “easy payments” on bicycles by Cleveland, Cycloid, Royal Worchester, Columbus, Westfield, Keating, Middletown, and Crescent. Sunol bicycles were available from John DeVisser, Wallace White’s cycle shop featured models by Clipper, White, and Fulton, and the Celery City Cycle Company offered an array of two-, four-, and six-passenger tandem models, along with the latest from Fowler, Sterling, Thistle, and Hudson. The Lawrence Cycle Company, which occupied the third floor of the Lawrence & Chapin building on North Rose Street, offered one of the broadest selections of cycles and accessories in town, with models by Tribune, Hoffman, America, Warwick, Smalley, Humber, Viking, Winton, Norwood, Cadillac, Columbus, 310 Special, Detroit, Richmond Special, and Featherstone. The firm also featured an imported bicycle made of bamboo.

Kalamazoo Cycle Company

A leading dealer and bicycle manufacturer during the peak of the 1890s cycle craze was the Kalamazoo Cycle Company, which alone boasted “three large stores” on North Rose Street. In addition to its full line of cycles by Columbia, Crescent, Waverly, Envoy, and Fleetwing, the company manufactured its own lines of Fortune and Yale bicycles.

The Kalamazoo Cycle Company was formed in June 1891 with $10,000 capital stock. Dr. Rush McNair, one of Bronson Hospital’s founding physicians, was the company president, Clarence C. Blood was vice president, Heinz H. Everard was treasurer, and Maurice E. Blood was secretary and general manager.

Long-time Kalamazoo residents Maurice and Clarence Blood held more than a dozen patents for innovative bicycle parts and accessories, including carriers, seats, supports, and other attachments. M.E. Blood was identified as a “practical and scientific mechanic, and inventor of the die cut devices used by the company,” while his brother Clarence was described as “an expert mechanic, an inventor (who) built many expensive machines for special work” (Gazette).

In January 1893, the Kalamazoo Cycle Company placed an exhibit of bicycle attachments on display at the American Cycle Club’s show in Philadelphia. Among the company’s hottest selling accessories was its “Kalamazoo Carrier,” a handlebar-mounted basket for hands-free stowage of books or other parcels. Also popular were its patented “trouser guards,” which kept one’s pant cuffs out of the chain mechanism, a handlebar-mounted passenger seat attachment, and a basket-like attachment that doubled as a child’s seat. Later the same year, the Kalamazoo Cycle Company was awarded a medal “for excellence” at the Chicago World’s Fair for its patented parcel carriers, child seats, and trouser guards.

“The ladies’ bicycle, which is making something of a stir in Washington, is built somewhat after the plan of the safety bicycle, with two wheels of moderate size. Between these the bar dips down close to the ground, so that bifurcation of the skirts is wholly unnecessary.”

—Kalamazoo Gazette, 15 June 1888

“Women on the Wheel”

Before 1890, bicycling in and around Kalamazoo, and across the rest of the nation for that matter, was an activity intended for men, perhaps because women’s clothing wasn’t conducive to riding the “high wheelers,” or more likely the rigid attitudes toward gender roles at the time prevented women from taking part. But once folks got over the idea that it was somehow harmful and/or indecent for a woman to engage in physical exercise, the new reality regarding women’s freedom slowly began to sink in. With the advent of the safety bicycle, women embraced their newfound freedom and mobility as a key part of the “wheel” crowd.

“The best way to get a rosy, healthy complexion is to take proper exercise. I walk several miles a day and ride in the evening on my bicycle. And by the by, bicycle riding is becoming more popular among the ladies, for I meet many in my rides in the park.”

—Pauline Hall, Kalamazoo Gazette, 3 August 1890

Donning proper attire while in the public eye was of the utmost importance in the 1800s. Divided skirts were frowned upon and the mere thought of a woman wearing slacks was enough to send most social reformers into a tailspin. To that end, bicycle manufacturers were quick to design “wheels” with low-cut frames that would accommodate female riders and their floor-length skirts.

In May 1890, Miss Bertie Burns purchased just such a model from local jeweler Will Thoma, the first ladies’ bicycle ever sold in Kalamazoo. Brothers William E. And John E. Thoma specialized in fine jewelry and watches, but in the spring of 1890, they found a degree of success for a brief time with a line of imported English “safety bicycles.” A few days after Miss Burns made her purchase, H.C. Reed bought a similar model from the Thoma Bros. for his daughter Coney.

By the mid-1890s, stylish ladies’ bicycle hats were in fashion, and ladies’ knickerbockers (“knickers” or “bloomers”) were slowly showing signs of acceptability. Local clothiers featured ladies’ sweaters, ladies’ bicycle gloves, ladies’ bicycle boots, and bicycle suits. The ubiquitous corset proved to be too confining for cycling, so manufacturers like the Chicago Corset Company devised a (perhaps somewhat) more comfortable “hipless bicycle corset for general wear as well as for all athletic exercises” (Telegraph). Brownson & Rankin were their local dealers.

“The bicycle is a blessing to girlhood and womanhood, and prejudice is giving way to common sense in the way the wheel is regarded as a means of activity for our sisters, our cousins, and our aunts, not to mention wives and sweethearts.”

—Kalamazoo Gazette, 10 May 1896

“I think (bicycling) has done more to emancipate woman than any one thing in the world.”

—Susan B. Anthony, 1896

By the end of the century, the market had become saturated, bicycle fever had subsided, and the Kalamazoo Cycle Company had shifted its efforts toward the production of horseless motorized vehicles. Workers were kept busy for a time with contract work for the firm’s die cutting, plating, brazing, design, and manufacturing services, but the interest in cycling suddenly switched to an interest in automobiles.

Michigan Automobile Company

In January 1903, the Michigan Automobile Company was formed. The new company absorbed the Kalamazoo Cycle Company in its entirety and discontinued manufacturing and selling bicycles to focus solely on automobile production. The new firm was to occupy the former Cone Coupler Carriage Company property on North Pitcher Street, north of the city.

Shortly thereafter, the Michigan Novelty Company of Vicksburg would take over the former Kalamazoo Cycle Company building on North Rose Street. Michigan Novelty later changed its name to the Kalamazoo Novelty Company and would eventually be absorbed into the Duplex Phonograph Company. The building on North Rose Street burned in 1985. Anna Whitten Hall, part of the KVCC Arcadia Commons Campus, now occupies the corner where the Kalamazoo Cycle Company building once stood.

Written by Keith Howard, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, April 2025