Flint Motor Co. Then and Now

709 N Second Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

Brothers Glen and Roy Flint of Englewood bought Dodge City’s Hudson-Essex dealership from James P McCollom in January of 1926. As part of the sale, the Flints were able to use space in McCollom’s Santa Fe Trail Garage at the southwest corner of Second and Spruce until they could find a permanent location.

Glen moved to Dodge along with his wife, Veronica, and managed operations, while Roy remained in Englewood. That April, plans were announced for a new building on Second Avenue between the new Odd Fellows Hall and the Elks Home. Julian Parham was awarded the contract to build a two-story brick and concrete structure with a full basement. Flint Motor Co. would use the main floor for automobile sales and the machine shop, managed by racecar driver Chick Logan, would be located in the basement. Access to the shop would be through a door facing the alley. The second floor was expected to be divided into office spaces.

This circa-1927 photo shows the Flint Motor Co. building with loads of glass along the front. The cars parked out front belonged to the Gum Motor Co. next door.

Flint Motor Co. began occupying their new quarters in October of 1926. At that time, the second floor hadn’t been finished.

The company began selling International trucks in 1929.

Around that time, Loyal Order of Moose Dodge City Lodge No. 1187 began occupying the second floor. Flint moved south of the tracks on Second Avenue in the early 1930s and Dodge City Parts Company moved to their former space.

That business ultimately became part of Scheufler Supply Co., which moved to West Trail Street in 1937. At that time, Kansas Power Company was expanding and began using the building for offices. By the early 1940s, the power company shared the building with the Western Investment Co. and the H. F. Krey Agency. This insurance and real estate firm became Krey and McCook Agency.

This photo from 1950 shows all of the glass along the front still intact. The door where the cars had been driven though had been converted to a store front entrance under the Moose sign.

Kansas Power Company became Western Light and Telephone Co. Its business office interior is shown here in June of 1952.

Krey and McCook moved to the other side of the street in the early 1950s and the Moose Lodge relocated to Minneola Road. New building occupants included accountant Morton Fisher and Russell Realty Co.

All of the glass is still intact in this image from the 1956 Boot Hill Fiesta Parade.

By 1957, the large upper windows had been replaced by glass blocks with tiny window inserts.

That sign was a real treasure.

Western Light and Telephone became Western Power and Gas in 1965. In 1968, the south storefront became vacant, followed by the rest of the building. Around 1972, Western Power began using the building for their accounting center. I believe the main floor storefronts were removed and replaced with marble infill around that time. For some reason, they chose white for the north and pink for the south.

By the early 1980s, data entry functions were also performed in this facility, which became known as Centel Electric.

Ownership changed again to WestPlains Energy in the 1990s. After that, the building was used as an annex by the Dodge City Daily Globe. Since a doorway connects the two structures on the second floor, it was easy for dance classes to be held on either side by various studios located next door.

The Globe began the slow process of vacating the property in 2021 and it was sold to an out-of-state investor. It’s been for sale and for lease pretty much ever since but hasn’t, to the best of my knowledge, ever been improved. Facebook listings show an outdated, stained, and generally grim environment which could be the location for a Backrooms sequel. See for yourself:

Here are some photos I have taken over the past several years. Note the WestPlains Energy ghost sign on the back door.

I was asked to write about this building more than a year ago and just haven’t had it in me. It’s sturdy and has great potential but my God, it’s had every ounce of light stripped from it. Good luck, I guess.

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