1904 Pope-Waverley Model 26

Colonel Albert Augustus Pope was a talented individual, a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in the Union Army, an importer, promoter, manufacture of bicycles, and a manufacturer of automobiles. After finding success in the bicycle business, he began to diversify into automobile production around the mid-1890s. The chief engineer of his Pope Motor Carriage department was Hiram Percy Maxim. The Motor Carriage Department was renamed in 1897 as the separate Columbia Automobile Company, which was spun off and sold to a company in which he was also an investor, the Electric Vehicle Company. Pope Manufacturing began electric automobile production in 1897 in Hartford, Connecticut, and by 1899, had produced over 500 vehicles. In another whirlwind change, the Electric Vehicle division was spun off again that year as the independent company Columbia Automobile Company but it was acquired by the Electric Vehicle Company by the year's end.

This list of Pope Companies between 1903 and 1915 included Pope-Waverly, Pope-Robinson, Pope-Hartford, Pope-Tribune, and Pope-Toledo.

By 1907, Pope had declared bankruptcy and by 1915 had left the automobile industry.

The Pope-Waverly produced electric cars in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1904 through 1908. Initially called the Waverly, it was the result of the consolidation of the American Electric Vehicle Company of Chicago and the Indiana Bicycle Company of Indianapolis (one of the Color's companies).

Over the years, many body styles were added to the Pope-Waverly line. Prices ranged from the $800s to over $2,200. Several wheelbase sizes were available, initially ranging from 61- to 87-inches. This diverse lineup may have catered to a wide audience, but it may have also attributed to the demise of the company. By 1907, the company was in receivership, and in September of 1908, the Pope organization sold its Indianapolis factory.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2020