Patterson, Charles Richard

Impact on the world

Built a successful Ohio carriage-making business after escaping slavery, which his son Frederick later transitioned into automobile manufacturing, making C.R. Patterson & Sons the only car company in American history founded and owned by an African American; the company built vehicles into the 1930s before pivoting to bus manufacturing as the automotive industry consolidated around larger competitors.

Life & background

Born into slavery on a Virginia plantation, Patterson escaped to Greenfield, Ohio in the 1850s, where he established himself as a blacksmith before partnering with a white carriage maker to found a successful coach and carriage manufacturing business following the Civil War. As the auto industry began displacing carriage manufacturing at the turn of the 20th century, Patterson's son Frederick Douglas Patterson transitioned the family business into automobile production, making C.R. Patterson & Sons the only automobile manufacturing company in U.S. history founded and owned by an African American. The company built passenger cars into the 1920s before shifting entirely to bus manufacturing as competition from larger automakers intensified, continuing to operate as a vehicle manufacturer into the 1930s under a renamed successor entity.

Sources

1. Petersen Automotive Museum; Autoblog; DealerOn; National Museum of African American History and Culture