The Colburn Automobile Company was a

Brass Era car The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915 ...

manufacturer in

Denver Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. The company produced cars from 1906-1911. in their factory at 15th Street and

Colfax Avenue Colfax Avenue is the main street that runs east–west through the Denver metropolitan area in Colorado. As U.S. Highway 40, it was one of two principal highways serving Denver before the Interstate Highway System was constructed. In the local ...

. Colburns were built as a roadster, and later as a

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

(Model 35). They were fashioned after the French

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

with the radiator positioned behind the sloping hood. The Model 30 and Model 40 roadsters were fast with a top speed of 72 miles per hour and often competed in road races and track events around the Denver area. The roadster featured a 4-cylinder, 40HP engine and 4 speed transmission and sold for $4,500.00. A large shiny brass "C" emblazoned the front of the automobiles.

The Colburn Family

Herbert C. Colburn and Ernest A. Colburn Jr. were the sons of Judge Ernest A. Colburn (E.A. Colburn). Judge Ernest was wealthy, having made his fortune as a mine owner in the

Cripple Creek, Colorado Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 1,155 at the 2020 United States Census. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Sprin ...

mining district. He was the financial backer of the automobile while the car itself was designed and built by his sons. Herbert and Ernest Jr. were inventors and had interests in engineering and technology, and held at least two

patents A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

for the design of mining machinery. At one time, the brothers ran the Ajax Mine in Victor, one of the many mines owned by their father.Colorado Mine Register Vol 14 page 594
/ref>

References

{{Reflist

External links

American-automobiles.com: Colburn Automobile Co. + Colburn automobiles webpage

— '' (halfway down the page)'' Brass Era vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1906 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1911 1906 establishments in Colorado Defunct manufacturing companies based in Denver

The Colburn Family

See also

References

External links