I found this photo of a Marland (later Conoco) gas station on the internet a while ago, and the gas pump looks very unusual. The description of the photo said it was a station in Grand Rapids Michigan in 1926 (although I don't believe Marland had stations in Michigan in 1926). Anyway, this is the first pump I have seen that looked to be encased in concrete. It appears to be a Fleckenstein 400, as shown in Jack Sim's latest book on page 188. Has anybody seen a similar gas pump before? Do you agree that it is a Fleckenstein 400?

Thanks.

Andy

That is a Fleckenstein pump, probably a 400. That handle in the front is what you used to pump the gasoline. Twenty-nine different Fleckenstein Pumps are shown in my Gas Pump Bible book.

Jack Sim

Yep, RARE Fleckenstien pumps and the dual 10 has to be rarer than the single 10 . I have a friend in Canada who seemed to find several of the single 10 wall mount models . Some folks ahve all the luck

I think Marland was in Michigan very early

The 1927 Marland map is stamped from a Flushing, Michigan location.
The 1926 Gratiot County Oil Co shows them selling Marland oils.
There exsists a 1925 map from Gratiot showing them selling Marland gasoline as well.

Dave

Thanks Dave. My information is based on a 1927 pamphlet from Marland listing their states of operation, and Michigan isn't listed.

I often find photos to be mis-dated, so this one might be from a few years later. But I do have a handful of photos of Marland stations in Michigan, so they clearly were in Michigan before the June 1929 merger with Continental Oil.

I also know that motor oils were distributed by Marland (and later Conoco) through other branded gas stations, so it isn't clear when a company refers to having a presence in a certain location whether they were referring to motor oils or gas stations. Then you have the age-old issue of whether they are referring to company-owned gas stations or dealer stations owned by jobbers.....

Dave: I did some more digging, and I found these two items that support Marland gasoline being sold in Michigan in the early days. The first is a 1921 Yearbook ad from a high school in Grand Rapids, MI and the second is a newspaper ad from Port Huron, MI in 1925. Both support the position that Marland gasoline was sold (likely through dealers only) in Michigan in the early and mid-1920's. I am not sure why the 1927 Marland brochure doesn't include Michigan and my only guess is that they were referring to "company owned" stations.

It appears that the second attachment didn't come through, and it keeps failing when I upload it. Will continue trying...

Just take a look at all the filled, quart glass oil bottles lined up in front of the building. It's easy to forget the cars and trucks of the teen's and twenties consumed a fair amount of oil....some of them even by engine design. John