C.R. Patterson and Sons

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C.R. Patterson and Sons
FormerlyJ. P. Lowe & Company;
C.R. Patterson, Son & Company;
C.R. Patterson and Sons Carriage Company
IndustryAutomotive manufacturing company
Founded1893 (1893)
FounderFrederick Patterson
Defunct1939 (1939)
SuccessorGreenfield Bus Body Company;
Gallia Body Company
HeadquartersGreenfield, Ohio, US
Key people
ProductsPatterson-Greenfield automobile

C.R. Patterson and Sons was an American automotive company, active from 1893 to 1939 primarily in Greenfield, Ohio and for one year in Gallia, Ohio.[1] The first African American founded car company founded by Frederick Douglas Patterson, and named after his father Charles "Rich" Richard Patterson.[1] They made the Patterson-Greenfield automobile.

History[]

Precursors[]

Charles "Rich" Richard Patterson (1833–1910) founded a precursor companies to C.R. Patterson and Sons.[2][3][4] Patterson had been born in 1833 as a slave on a Virginia plantation.[2][5][6] There are conflicting stories on how he left the plantation, he ended up living in Greenfield, Ohio, which was also the site of an underground railroad station.[2][6] He initially worked at Dines and Simpson Carriage and Coach Makers Company, and learned blacksmithing.[1]

Charles Patterson partnered with a local carriage builder, J.P. Lowe, a white man, and they created J.P. Lowe & Company in 1873.[2][4][7] By 1888, the business employed 10 people, which was considered successful for its time.[7] The United States was experiencing the Panic of 1893, a financial crisis and business was suffering.[7] As a result, in 1893, the company was renamed as C.R. Patterson, Son, and Company after Patterson bought Lowe's shares and to mark the inclusion of his son Samuel to the business.[2][4] Samuel Patterson fell ill in 1897, and died in 1899.[4] His eldest son Frederick Douglas Patterson moved home to help with the business.

By 1900, the company was producing 28 different horse-drawn carriage styles including buggies, backboards, phaetons, surreys, and the popular doctor's buggy.[8] They had 50 employees, and were able to manufacture approximately 500 horse-drawn carriages a year.[8]

Automobile manufacturing[]

After Charles Patterson's death in 1910, his son Frederick Douglas Patterson took over the carriage business and decided they needed to get into the "Patterson horseless carriage" business.[2] At first they offered the service of repairing existing automobiles in the local area.[1] On September 23, 1915, the first C.R. Patterson and Sons automobile was assembled, a two-door coupe.[2] The first cars were sold for $685, with additional reports of the car selling for $850 (or $17,741 to $22,014 adjusted for inflation in 2021).[1][2][7]

It is estimated they built somewhere between 30 and 150 vehicles, and none are known to have survived to present day.[7]

Bus and truck manufacturing[]

In 1918, C.R. Patterson & Sons halted their auto production and concentrated once again on the repair side of the business.[1] By the 1920s, they started focusing on building and designing truck and bus bodies, which were fitted to chassis made by other manufactures.[1] The company was renamed Greenfield Bus Body Company. Frederick Douglas Patterson died in 1932, and his son Postell Patterson (1906–1981) took over the business.[9]

Most of the bus bodies were purchased by school boards in Southern Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky, as well as the Ohio Transit Company and used in Cincinnati and Cleveland.[7]

In 1938, the company was reorganized under the name Gallia Body Company and the headquarters moved to Gallia, Ohio.[4] Unable to raise enough money, the company closed in 1939.[1][9]

Further reading[]

  • May, Henry A. (2007). First Black Autos: The Charles Richard "C.R." Patterson & Sons Company. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1425105174.
  • Nelson, Christopher (2010). The C. R. Patterson and Sons Company: Black Pioneers in the Vehicle Building Industry, 1865-1939. ISBN 978-1453770306.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "The Only African American Automobile Company". National Museum of African American History and Culture. Smithsonian. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2020-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Charles R. Patterson, Inventor born". African American Registry. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  3. ^ "The Patterson Automobile". Historical Society of Greenfield, Ohio. Retrieved 2020-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e Berk, Brett (2019-02-15). "The Only African American Automaker Started as a Coachbuilder". Car and Driver. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  5. ^ Images of America, Greenfield. The Historical Society of Greenfield. Arcadia Publishing. 2012. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7385-8873-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ a b "C.R. Patterson and Sons: The First and Only African-American Automobile Company". Your AAA Network. 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Printz, Larry (2021-03-10). "From buggies to buses, the first Black-owned US automaker did what few others dared". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  8. ^ a b Smith, Jessie Carney (2006). Encyclopedia of African American Business: A-J. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 646. ISBN 978-0-313-33110-7.
  9. ^ a b Theobald, Mark (2004). "Greenfield Bus Body Co., C.R. Patterson & Sons, Peterson-Greenfield, J.P. Lowe & Co., Frederick D. Patterson, Charles R. Peterson, Black Auto Mfr". Coachbult.com. Retrieved 2020-12-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[]

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