- February 4, 2025
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A piece of Ormond Beach history will soon come out of storage and into the public eye, as the City Commission voted on Monday, Nov. 5, to loan the Stanley Steamer Rocket replica to local developer Bill Jones to be displayed in the upcoming Ormond Garage Brewery.
According to a city memo, the car was built in the 1960s by Morris Frost. Ormond Beach resident Dan Smith, was called to speak on the item by City Commissioner Rick Boehm, who pulled the item from the consent agenda. Smith said the replica was built to commemorate the Stanley brothers' original race car from 1906.
The rocket went 127 mph down the beach. It was the first record by an American car in Ormond Beach, as well as the longest held, Smith said. It lasted four years. The replica is beautiful, he added.
“We’re so proud to have a place to show it on Granada," Smith said. "It’s going to be really nice, we think.”
The replica landed in the Birthplace of Speed Museum in Ormond Beach and later became city property when the museum closed. In 1996, it was loaned to the International Speedway Corporation to be placed in the "Daytona USA" facility, and in 2015, it was displayed at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee. It's been stored in the city's fleet management building since 2016.
The loan agreement, which was approved on a 4-0 vote (Commissioner Dwight Selby was absent in the meeting due to an accident), means the Stanley Steamer Replica will be displayed in a window at the Ormond Garage Brewery. Jones will build a display case to protect it when moved into its new home. This is part of the brewery's initiative to pay tribute to the city's Birthplace of Speed history.
Though Jones did not attend the meeting, Boehm did read a letter on his behalf. The letter expressed his thanks for letting him care for The Rocket.
“The history of our city must be preserved and prominently featured in a setting that benefits not only The Rocket, but also honors the people of our great town," the letter said.
Boehm said people try to make the words "builder" and "developer" into negative words, but that "these are the people who make the city what it is."
