History of the House

THE STORY OF COLONEL JESSE G. VINCENT and the HOME ON WINDMILL POINTE DRIVE

Born in 1880 in Charleston, Arkansas, Jesse Gurney Vincent spent his childhood on a farm near Pana, Illinois. Always a tinkerer, he set up his own blacksmith shop at the age of 10 and could be found hanging around railroad repair shops. He attended the Little Red School House for early grades and then was sent to Cote Brillint Grammar School in St. Louis, Missouri. He quit school in 8th grade and started taking correspondence courses, through which he received his degree in engineering.

In 1897, at the age of 17, he took a job as a bookkeeper and then became a toolmaker and machinist for the next 3 years with the Universal Adding Machine Company in St. Louis. In 1902, he met and married Clarinda Brood. Not long after, they moved to Detroit where Vincent took a job with Burroughs Adding Machine Co. Alvan Macauley, then the head of Burroughs, made him Superintendent of Inventions where he stayed until 1910.

He then joined the Hudson Motor Car Company and became its Chief Engineer in 1911. Macauley, his former boss at Burroughs, joined the Packard Motor Car Co., and in 1912, he called Vincent to join him. In 1915, Vincent was elevated to Packard VP of Engineering, a post he held until 1948 with the exception of the two years spent in the U.S. Air Service. He retired as a Packard Director in 1954. Aviation and the Liberty Engine

With the U.S. entry into WWI, Vincent accepted a commission as Major with the Signal Corps in the U.S. Army in 1917, and started to build experimental aircraft. He was placed in command of McCook Field in 1918, and became reserve Military Aviation head in August of that year. He was designated Chief of Airplane Engineering in September. all their past research and technical knowledge, co-designed the Liberty Engine. The 400-horsepower V-12 was one of the most powerful engines at that time. Designed to be mass-produced, and with interchangeable parts, it became the standard wartime aircraft engine. Produced by Packard, Ford, Lincoln, GM and others, more than 13,000 came off the assembly line before Armistice, and more than 20,000 were built the following year. Used in numerous types of planes, some engines were released to the civilians market as war surplus and many were used in speedboats for rum-running during Prohibition. The Liberty engine was eventually modified into air-cooled and supercharged versions for marine use. In 1919, while serving in the Army Reserves, Vincent was promoted to Lt Colonel, achieving the rank of Colonel in 1920.

The House on Windmill Pointe Drive

In 1921, the Vincents lived near the Packard Plant at 528 E. Grand Blvd in Detroit. A few years later, they moved into a home designed by Leonard Willeke at 938 Balfour in Grosse Pointe Park. In 1927, they commissioned architects Benjamin and Straight to design 15500 Windmill Pointe Drive, moving in the next year.

The Vincent home is fairly modest in scale at just under 5,300 square feet. With both Tudor and Craftsman influences, details include herringbone brick work and heavy timbers, along with a conical-roofed turret over the entry porch on the exterior; leaded glass windows and doors, and extensive use of wood paneling and ceiling beams on the inside.

The home was built to be comfortable enough for two people but grand enough to entertain dignitaries. Besides the imposing two-story living room with the original iron chandelier, carved stone fireplace and the Juliet balcony accessible from the master suite, there is a ballroom on the 3rd floor, allowing for large gatherings of friends and neighbors.

But the most unique feature of this waterfront home is the private canal bisecting the yard from Lake St. Clair to the dry dock that runs under the living room. Allowing for Colonel Vincent to work on his boats and motors at his leisure, there is also a full bath and fully equipped Tavern just inside the home from the dock, so he could clean up and relax afterwards.

Sixteen years after moving in, Mrs. Vincent passed away and Col. Vincent put the house up for sale. It was sold in 1950 and he moved to a new home less than a mile from the Windmill Pointe address.

It was sold twice more, to families with children who lived in the home, enjoyed its uniqueness and shared many happy memories of a home built for an engineer and his wife.

Automotive and Marine Accomplishments

Col. Vincent was responsible for the introduction of 4-wheeled brakes; automobile air conditioning, power booster brakes and the Packard Twin-Six and its automatic transmission, called Ultramatic. Vincent’s engines established more than 150 racing records in autos, speedboats and airplanes.

In 1925 at Manhasset Bay, Vincent set a world powerboat record averaging 49 mph. Later that year, he won the 3rd Annual 150-mile Sweepstakes in the Annual Detroit Regatta at the wheel of PackardChrisCraft II, averaging 55.6 mph, beating Gar Wood for the Gold Cup trophy. In future collaborations with Gar Wood, his marine engines made a sweep of the Gold Cup races, repeatedly carrying his “Miss America” boats to victory. Other Accomplishments

In 1929, Colonel Jesse Vincent was given an honorary Master of Engineering from the University of Michigan, “…in recognition of his engineering contributions to the development of the automotive industry and for the conspicuous service he rendered his country during the turmoil of war as co-designer of the famous Liberty engine and chief engineer of the Bureau of Aircraft Production.”

He was a member of the Aviation Country Club, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Automobile Engineers and the Aero Club of America. He served as President of the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1920 and of AAA Michigan in 1948-49. Vincent is immortalized as “America’s Master Motor Builder” on a State of Michigan marker at the Packard Proving Grounds.

Colonel Jesse Vincent died on April 20, 1962, at the age of 82. According to an obituary, written by Ralph R. Watts, a reporter for the Detroit News, Vincent was a “...quiet and modest man, who had more than 400 engineering patents to his credit while serving with the Packard Motor Car Co. He was one of the most respected minds in automotive, aviation and marine engineering fields.”

Information courtesy of the Grosse Pointe Historic Society, The Burton Collection, Detroit Public Library, www.antiquedistributorcaps.com, and www.oldengine.org