Clarence O. "C.O." Putnam was a visionary, seeking to build a business through an agreement with a vehicle manufacturing company that was little more than a decade old. What emerged from his efforts was a Chevrolet dealership that has now reached the ripe age of 100 years old, making it one of the oldest dealerships operating in the state of Missouri.
Born in 1897 in Cooper County, C.O. Putnam's father died as a young man; he and his three siblings were then raised by their mother near Jamestown in Moniteau County. Graduating from the local high school, C.O. was working on a farm near the community of Lupus when World War I mandated his service to the nation.
Military records indicate the 21-year-old was inducted into the U.S. Navy in St. Louis on July 13, 1918, and received his initial training in Great Lakes, Illinois. From there, he was sent to Norfolk, Virginia, prior to his brief assignment aboard the USS Wisconsin, a training ship moored at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was during his assignment aboard this vessel that Putnam learned the duties of a fireman third class.
However, the war came to an end less than two weeks after he was assigned to the USS Wisconsin and, by Jan. 23, 1919, he was on a passenger train and headed back home to Moniteau County.
"After he returned (from the military), we were married in September 1919," wrote his wife, the former Mildred Hoback, in a short biography for the "Moniteau County, Missouri Family History Book" printed in 1980. The two had met while attending high school together, she further explained.
Mildred said, "We settled down to be farmers, but fate changed our lifestyle. C.O. broke his arm in such a way that he was left handicapped. We went into automobile service in Jamestown ... in 1923," she added.
Known at the time as Putnam Motor Service, it was not until 1928 that C.O. Putnam secured a dealership with Chevrolet. He operated this business successfully for many years before entering a business relationship with another former farmer to purchase the Chevrolet dealership in Tipton, aptly naming it the Putnam-Gabert Chevrolet Company.
"TO THE PUBLIC," read the headline of an article in the Tipton Times on Oct. 22, 1937. "Having purchased the Motor-Inn Garage and having been appointed Chevrolet dealers for this territory, we will be pleased to welcome old as well as new patrons."
Years later, an article printed in the Tipton Times on Sept. 5, 1958, noted of the Tipton dealership, "Mr. Putnam and Mr. (Paul) Gabert started operating the business on Oct. 18, 1937, as a partnership with Mr. Gabert as manager."
The newspaper added, "Mr. Gabert, Clarence Putnam and Joe Putnam (C.O.s younger brother) in partnership purchased the Chevrolet agency (Tompkins Chevrolet) in California in 1939."
By the mid-1940s, there were three dealerships carrying the Putnam name in whole or in part: Putnam-Gabert Chevrolet Company in Tipton, Putnam-Geiger Chevrolet Company in Jamestown and Putnam Chevrolet in California.
Putnam's success came in part by recognizing the sales successes of his employees. He hired Karl Herfurth at his dealership in 1931 and, by 1939, he had sold 100 automobiles. This achievement earned Herfurth the award of a $115 Hamilton watch in 1939.
In 1945, a modern brick dealership building was constructed on what was then U.S. Highway 50 in California. As the years came and went, C.O. Putnam's previous partnerships dissolved until such a time as he only retained the dealership in California.
"Our two children, Norma and Don, graduated from Jamestown High School and University of Missouri," wrote Mildred Putnam in 1980. "Norma died in in 1961, age 41. Don has worked 27 years for Sperry Gyroscope and General Dynamics. Don, his wife, Fran, and two children are now living in California ... where he is general manager of Putnam Chevrolet."
Don Putnam, who had served as a junior officer with the U.S. Army in the Korean War, later worked for companies that supported the early Mercury and Apollo missions. In 1980, while on leave from General Dynamics, he took over his father's Chevrolet dealership and ran the company for the next three years.
"I began working for C.O. Putnam as a technician in 1977 and became parts manager under Don Putnam in 1981," said Bill Campbell, current owner of Putnam Chevrolet. "In 1983, I became service manager and then from 1983 to 2018, Don Putnam and I were partners in the company."
With the rerouting of U.S. Highway 50 south of California, the decision was made to relocate the dealership along the northwest junction of state Highway 87 and the new U.S. Highway 50 in 2014. In 2018, Bill Campbell assumed primary ownership of Putnam Chevrolet while his son-in-law, Adam Weber, became a minority partner.
"Adam's great-grandfather Earl Eberhardt owned Eberhardt Chevrolet in California during the same time that C.O. Putnam had his dealership in Jamestown," Campbell said. "What very interesting historical connections!"
The company's namesake, C.O. Putnam, was 85 years old when he died in 1982; he is interred in the California Masonic Cemetery. His son, Donald, died in 2020 and is buried in the Columbia Cemetery.
The legacy of Putnam Chevrolet has now entered the century mark, which Bill Campbell notes is an impressive milestone for an automobile dealership.
"Around the state, dealerships have been bought and sold, have come and gone, and lost the identity of their founders," Campbell said. "But here at Putnam Chevrolet, we have been able to maintain the company for 100 years.
"It has been a privilege to support the automotive needs of our customers throughout the years and to carry forth the vision of our founder, C.O. Putnam."
Jeremy P. Ämick is an author/historian and recently penned the book "Hidden History of Cole County."
