By William “Skip” Deegans
In the 1920s, Ronceverte Motors Co. was the dealer for the Jewett Six automobile. It is a car you may have never heard about as it was short-lived, but it had a West Virginia connection. Harry Mulford Jewett was a star athlete at the University of Notre Dame where he was on the varsity football, track and baseball team. He held two world records in track. Following his graduation with a civil engineering degree, he made a fortune in mining and selling coal. His company was one of the first to extract coal from West Virginia. With proceeds from his coal ventures, he organized the Paige-Detroit Motor Co. that produced a six-cylinder Paige automobile in 1915. In 1922, the smaller Jewett Six was introduced.
Early on in the days of auto production, manufacturers understood that racing resulted in more cars sold. Rather than racing another car, the Jewett raced a train. On December 19, 1925 at 5 a.m. a Jewett car left Detroit’s Michigan Central Station along with the speedy train, the Wolverine Limited. The Jewett reached Chicago’s Central Station in 6 hours and 5 minutes, a half-hour ahead of the train. The driver noted the roads were icy and he could have driven faster had they not been.
Harry Jewett sold his manufacturing company in 1927 and returned to the coal business. Only about 40,000 Jewetts were made, and it is thought there are less than 100 left. Jewett’s wife, Mary, is reported to have been a follower of mysticism. Although not documented, embedded in the dashboard of each was the Jewett Amulet to protect the owner from harm.