[1] As early as 1883, Mitchell, Lewis & Company were manufacturing two-wheel and four-wheel wagons in Racine, Wisconsin.

[1][2] The company's first models were a chain driven and water-cooled four-stroke 4hp and two-stroke 7hp runabout, with tiller steering and a two-speed planetary transmission.

[1] Mitchell participated in many automobile contests to show the power and reliability of their new four-cylinder cars.

[1] The Mitchell introduced in 1920 had a sloping radiator configuration and was given the epithet of "drunken Mitchell.”[3][1] This styling mistake hurt sales.

[3][1][2] With the effects of styling mistakes, competition from mass producers of automobiles and the post-war depression, output had plummeted to less than 2,500 in both 1920 and 1921.

In February 1924 the Mitchell factory was sold to Nash Motors and the Ajax automobile would be produced there.