Makes › Judkins · Coachbuilder (carrozzeria) – bodies, not complete cars · United States

Judkins

Judkins (J.B. Judkins Company) was an American coachbuilder in Merrimac, Massachusetts, that grew out of a nineteenth-century carriage works. It bodied Lincoln, Duesenberg, Cadillac, Packard and Pierce-Arrow chassis among others.¹

0Cars bodied

0Individual chassissee each car

1857Founded

Key facts

Founded: 1857 (as the carriage maker Judkins & Goodwin, West Amesbury)¹ Independently researched
Headquarters: Merrimac (formerly West Amesbury), Massachusetts, USA¹ Independently researched
Status: 1941¹ Independently researched

History

The firm began in 1857 as the carriage maker Judkins & Goodwin in West Amesbury, later renamed Merrimac, and by the 1860s traded as John B. Judkins & Son, specialising in enclosed carriages. It built its first motorcar bodies in 1897 and by about 1910 had given up carriages entirely. Early body customers included Peerless, White, Winton and Locomobile; later it supplied Lincoln (some 5,900 bodies between 1921 and 1941), Cadillac, Packard, Marmon and Pierce-Arrow, and bodied 25 Duesenberg Model J chassis between 1929 and 1936. Falling demand for bespoke coachwork in the late 1930s and unsuccessful diversification forced the company to close in 1941.

Milestones

1897
First motorcar bodies built.¹
1941
Company closes.¹

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1
1932 Duesenberg Model J Victoria Coupe by Judkins Level C Heacock Classic
- First motorcar bodies built.
- Company closes.
- "founded in 1857 as Judkins & Goodwin in West Amesbury, later called Merrimac"
- Merrimac, Massachusetts
- forced to close in 1941 after declining demand for bespoke coachwork
- company history
Accessed 2026-11-13