Historic Pennsylvania American Bantam Jeep Factory Destroyed In Fire

The factory that produced the Bantam Jeep was destroyed in a fire this past weekend.

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Just days after a devastating fire ripped through the historic American Bantam Jeep Factory, it was announced that the building would be torn down. It will mark the end of the line for what had been seen as the birthplace of the famed “Jeep.”

Firefighters had battled to contain the blaze, but were forced to allow small fires to burn through the past weekend due to the unstable nature of the remaining structure.

The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

The loss of the building is already being felt by the community of Butler, Pennsylvania, where the first Bantam Jeeps rolled off the assembly line just before the United States entered the Second World War.

“The Bantam building is more than bricks and mortar; it represents the determination, creativity, and teamwork that helped shape a lasting piece of American history,” Todd Wagner, president of Friends of the Bantam Jeep Association, told CBS News.

The association puts on an annual Bantam Jeep Festival in Butler on the second weekend of June. The event may continue, even if the building is soon gone.

“Though the loss is difficult for our community and Jeep enthusiasts everywhere, the legacy of Bantam will always live on through the people who continue to honor and celebrate it,” Wagner added.

The Buildings Are Gone, The Legacy Lives On

Much of the Bantam factory had already been torn down years ago. Yet, the vacant administrative building remained, serving as a de facto monument to the birthplace of the Jeep, but also a sad reminder of the decline of American industry in the late 20th century.

Moreover, until last weekend, it had been one of the few remaining buildings still standing that played a role in the early history and development of the Jeep.

Much of the Willys-Overland Jeep factory in Toledo, Ohio, is already long gone, replaced by the modern Toledo Assembly Complex. Even the site of the Jeep museum was demolished, one “Overland” smokestack from the factory was saved. It was preserved and dedicated as a monument to honor the plant’s history and its former workforce.

Just an hour north by Jeep or other automobile, in Detroit, stands a four-story building that served as a Willys-Overland sales and service center.

Built in 1912, it hosted the 1918 Detroit Auto Show; however, by the 1950s, it had changed hands several times. As the Motor City underwent a period of decline, the building remained dormant for decades.

Fortunately, it wasn’t torn down, and in 2005, the former service center was purchased for redevelopment, and it is now the Willys-Overland Lofts.

Remembering The Bantam Jeep

American Bantam was the first to produce the vehicle that became the basis for the Jeep, even if Willys-Overland became the primary manufacturer.

“American Bantam can literally be credited as being the ‘father of the jeep,'” said military historian John Adams-Graf, editor of History in Motion, the newsletter of the Military Vehicle Preservation Society.

“Bantam responded first to the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps’ call for a light reconnaissance and utility vehicle, a prototype built and delivered to Camp Holabaird, Maryland, in just 49 days,” explained Adams-Graf in an email. “Only two other companies of the 135 that the Army approached also delivered prototypes: Ford and Willys. Regardless, Bantam delivered their prototype on time, so they received the first contract for what would eventually become the ‘Jeep.'”