About Us

History & Future of the REOTM

The R.E. Olds Museum was incorporated in 1977 on the incentive of a study task force of the Greater Lansing Chamber of Commerce. After site selection and renovation, the Museum opened to the public on May 18, 1981 at its present location. The Museum rented its building from the City of Lansing until February 2018 when the city sold it to the museum for $2.

As the Museum has grown in interpretation of its mission, and to more accurately promote Lansing area’s many contributions in transportation, the word “Transportation” was added to the Museum’s name in 1987.

The museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organization governed by a Board of Trustees. It is dedicated to Ransom Eli Olds, a Lansing inventor, entrepreneur, financier, and one of Lansing’s most notable automotive leaders. Olds created the principle of the assembly line in the automobile industry and founded two local automobile companies: Olds Motor Works (1897) and REO Motor Car Company (1904).

Exhibits include a significant collection of automobiles, engines, and other materials significant to the transportation history of Lansing, the region, the state and the nation. The R.E. Olds Transportation Museum and the Bates and Edmonds Engine Company offices are resources within the Lansing Stewardship Community of Motor-Cities-National Heritage Area, a cultural heritage area and affiliate of the National Parks Service.