Bygone Business: E. R. Metcalf Ford Agency

If you were in the market for a new automobile in Rochester in 1910, you could order one from the local Ford agent, Edward R. Metcalf, who was located in the building at 311 S. Main St. Metcalf operated a furniture and undertaking parlor in the store, which he had purchased from Mrs. Thomas C. Severance in 1903. Customers interested in the newfangled horseless carriage could call upon Mr. Metcalf at his store and arrange a demonstration of a new Ford vehicle.

Metcalf was Rochester's Ford dealer until 1911, when he sold his business and moved to California.  The advertisement shown here ran in the local newspapers in April, 1910.