Marathon Motor Works

The Marathon brand automobile was manufactured in this brick complex on Clinton St. in Nashville from 1909 to 1914 before the company went bankrupt. The main building in the complex was built in 1881 as a cotton factory; the two-story building had a three-story Italianate tower that later received an extra story to hold more water for fire-fighting. The building now holds a museum and shops and the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Guided historical tours of the complex, now called Marathon Village, are offered by appointment.

Marathon automobiles were first manufactured in 1907 in a boiler factory in Jackson, Tennessee; this was one year before Henry Ford's Model T car was introduced. The Southern Exchange and Boiler Works had been operating in Jackson since 1884 and was one of the nation's largest manufacturers of gasoline engines and industrial boilers. The first cars were designed by an apprentice engine named William Collier and were named "Southern." The car name was soon changed to avoid confusion with another manufacturer; the name "Marathon" was a reference to the Olympic games held a few years prior in St. Louis. About one hundred cars were made in Jackson before Nashville banker and hotel owner A. H. Robinson purchased the Marathon division and moved operations to Nashville. Marathon Motors moved to buildings on Clinton St. between 12th and 13th North (the main building is 1200-1310 Clinton) and began manufacturing cars there in 1909.

The main building in the brick complex, built in 1881, used to contain the Nashville Cotton Mills (1881 to 1894) and then the Phoenix Cotton Mills (1894 to 1908). The original portion of the main mill building was 43 bays long with arched windows, with a low-pitched gable roof. The three-story tower on the south side of the mill building became four stories in the 1890s to accommodate an additional water tank for fighting fires; the tower was placed in the center of the building to easily reach both ends of the long structure. The tower also served as the main entrance to the mill building. Stairs led to a recessed door with a stone plaque reading 1881. A second tower of three stories was added onto the north facade by 1887.

After the complex was purchased by Robinson, the mill building was modified to accommodate automobile manufacturing. Some of the sections along the north side of the mill building were enclosed. A two-story addition was built in 1912, adding 40,000 square feet to the west end. While around 6,000 to 10,000 Marathon cars were manufactured in Nashville from 1910 to 1914, only a handful still remain. Nearly half of all the cars sold in Nashville in 1911 were Marathons. The work force at the factory swelled from 75 in 1910 to 400 by 1913. While other southern states assembled cars in this era, Marathon was unique because they also built the cars. Marathon Motor Works began with a choice of two models, the A9 and B9. Later, the process got complicated with five models by 1911 and twelve different versions of the car in 1913. Mismanagement was another reason that the company declared bankruptcy in 1914. The factory kept operating for three more years making car parts for Herff-Brooks, an Indianapolis car manufacturer who purchased Marathon Motor Works.

The mill building was vacant from 1918 to 1920 and then became a warehouse for the next sixty-four years for Werthan Bag Company. The company stored burlap and cotton bags, and cotton patches in the old factory/ mill building. Werthan sold the warehouse to Nole and Andrews Property in 1984, who continued to use it as storage space. In 1987, the mill building was purchased by Barry Lyle Walker. It took him three years, but Walker was able to track down a Marathon automobile and moved it to the complex. The renovated spaces have included a museum on Marathon Motors and a brewery. The complex now holds an event venue, restaurants, shops, artisan workshops, and office space.

Bratcher, Jenna. The Hidden History of Marathon Motor Works, Style Blueprint. March 11th, 2020. Accessed September 16th, 2022. https://styleblueprint.com/nashville/everyday/marathon-motor-works-barry-walker/.

Keyser, C. C. "A Fully Equipped 1912 Marathon for $685." Pensacola Journal (Pensacola) November 12th, 1911. 5-5.

Marathon Village. About, Marathon Village. Accessed September 12th, 2022. https://www.marathonvillage.net/about.

Middle Tennessee State U. Dept. of History. Binnecker, Margaret et al. NRHP Nomination of Marathon Motor Works, Nashville, Tennessee. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1995.

Zepp, George R. Hidden History of Nashville. Charleston, SC. The History Press, 2009.