C.R. Patterson and Sons was an American automotive company, active from 1893 to 1939 primarily in Greenfield,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and for one year in

Gallia Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during Rep ...

. The first African American founded car company founded by Frederick Douglas Patterson, and named after his father Charles "Rich" Richard Patterson. They made the Patterson-Greenfield automobile.

History

Precursors

Charles "Rich" Richard Patterson (1833–1910) founded a precursor companies to C.R. Patterson and Sons. Patterson was born in 1833 to Charles and Nancy Patterson in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The family moved to Ohio between 1841 and 1842. They were listed in the 1850 census in Greenfield, Ohio, which was a busy station on the

underground railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. He initially worked at Dines and Simpson Carriage and Coach Makers Company, and learned

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

ing. Charles Patterson partnered with a local carriage builder, J.P. Lowe, a

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

man, and they created J.P. Lowe & Company in 1873. By 1888, the business employed 10 people, which was considered successful for its time. The United States was experiencing the Panic of 1893, a financial crisis and business was suffering. 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. Samuel Patterson fell ill in 1897, and died in 1899. 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. They had 50 employees, and were able to manufacture approximately 500 horse-drawn carriages a year.

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. At first they offered the service of repairing existing automobiles in the local area. On September 23, 1915, the first C.R. Patterson and Sons automobile was assembled, a two-door coupe. 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). It is estimated they built somewhere between 30 and 150 vehicles, and none are known to have survived to present day.

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. By the 1920s, they started focusing on building and designing truck and bus bodies, which were fitted to chassis made by other manufactures. 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. 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. In 1938, the company was reorganized under the name Gallia Body Company and the headquarters moved to

. Unable to raise enough money, the company closed in 1939.

References

External links