John North Willys was one of the most influential men in Toledo in the early 1900’s. Willys was born in 1873 and began his career in the bicycle business in his hometown in upstate New York. He brought his business to Toledo when he purchased the Pope-Toledo factory and began to produce automobiles. At the time, Willys had no idea the scope of the impact he would have in turning Toledo into an automotive powerhouse. By 1914, Willys-Overland was the second largest automobile producer behind Ford and employed one-third of the Toledo workforce. Willys not only built his business, but he encouraged other entrepreneurs and companies to bring their operations to the up-and-coming Toledo industrial scene. At the urging of Willys, Frank and Robert Stranahan brought their spark plug business, Champion Spark Plugs, to Toledo in order to supply Willys-Overland. This move resulted in Champion becoming the world’s largest spark plug manufacturer. Toledo would not have been able to become a capital of automobile manufacturing were it not for Willys’ influence.
Willys was also a patron and collector of art who filled his home in Toledo with tapestries, paintings, and antique furniture. He used the house as a gallery to impress his clients and peers. At the time of his first wife’s death in 1945, their collection of paintings was said to be “the most notable to appear at public sale in America since 1928.” Willys used this collection to assist in the building of the fledgling Toledo Museum of Art. He served as a trustee on the museum’s board and loaned his collection of paintings of the early English and Dutch schools, including works by Franz Hals and Rembrandt, to the museum. His contributions assisted in setting the museum on the track to get it to where it is today.
thetoledoohiorenaissance.wordpress.com 