Although Henry Ford’s first two ventures into automobile manufacturing had not been successful, this third attempt showed great promise. At the end of the first year, the Ford Motor Company had sold over seventeen hundred automobiles.
The year 1903, which marked a turning point in the life of Henry Ford, now forty years of age, was an interesting year for all Americans. The first successful transcontinental automobile trip was completed in August. A telegraphic cable was completed across the Pacific to Manila in the Philippines. In Washington, Theodore Roosevelt was clearing the way for the building of the Panama Canal, and in New Jersey, the Edison studios completed the first full-length motion picture, called “The Great Train Robbery.” Finally, in December, Orville and Wilbur Wright flew an airplane successfully at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. During the next few years, those who marveled at progress in 1903 saw even greater changes in their way of living brought about by improved transportation and communication. The twentieth century had started off well.
The Ford Motor Company was also experimenting with changes. Models B, C, and F appeared. When the Mack Avenue plant was no longer adequate to house the activities of the company, a new building was erected, ten times larger than the first one. By 1906, the company announced models N, S, and R, as well as a six-cylinder K. Experimentation went beyond the building of different models of automobiles; for example, a tractor was planned and constructed, but never sold.
During this time, changes were also made in the ownership of the plant. Some of the stockholders sold out, and Henry Ford became the major owner of the Ford Motor Company.
A real danger to Ford and his company during these early years was the threat of a patent suit. Back at the time of the _Times-Herald_ race in 1895, George Selden, a lawyer in Rochester, New York, had patented a “self-propelled vehicle driven by an internal combustion engine.” Although he never built an automobile, all those who did were threatened with infringement suits. This fact made it necessary for the makers of automobiles to pay royalties to the patent holder. The Ford Motor Company refused. The result was a long and involved battle in the federal courts, lasting until 1911 when the case was finally settled in favor of the Ford Motor Company.