Elijah McCoy was born to fugitive slaves in Canada in 1843 or 1844. He went to Scotland to obtain training as a mechanical engineer and then returned to eastern Michigan after the Civil War. Apparently because of occupational discrimination, he accepted a job as a fireman on the Michigan Central Railroad. He soon realized that engineers faced a serious challenge keeping the wheels and axles of their locomotives well lubricated. They had to stop often to apply oil. If the lubrication was used up, any number of troubles might lead to an accident.
To solve this problem, Elijah McCoy set up a workshop at 229 West Michigan in Ypsilanti and, in 1872, invented a device that automatically oiled the wheels and axles of steam engines. This quickly became very popular since enginemen no longer had to frequently stop their trains to manually apply oil. This reduced the chance of accidents and greatly improved productivity in the rail industry. Competitors soon developed other products, but McCoy's invention worked best; hence, locomotive engineers demanded: "The Real McCoy."
After this successful invention, Elijah McCoy moved to Detroit, lived at 5720 Lincoln and established a firm to manufacture oiling mechanisms for a variety of industrial purposes, including rail and ship engines. By the late 1920s when he died, he held more than 40 patents for such devices.
Michigan Registry of Historic Sites: P25170. Listed: November
14, 1974
Michigan Historical Marker: Erected: December 23, 1974. This is clearly visible
in front of the McCoy homes at the intersection of McCoy Drive and Lincoln.
Note: A similar historical marker was erected at the site of Elijah McCoy's original website at 229 West Michigan in Ypsilanti.