Charles Richard Patterson, BOMA Minute

On April 8, 1833 Charles Richard Patterson was born into slavery on a Virginia plantation. He escaped by climbing over the Allegheny Mountains, trekking through the hills of West Virginia and crossing the Ohio River to the Greenfield Underground Railroad Station.

He took a job with a Coach making company. Mastering the craft of making horse-drawn carriages and out shinning all his competition, he formed the C.R. Patterson & Sons Carriage Company and was awarded several patents.

When C.R. passed in 1910 his eldest son took over the business. He began noticing more and more ‘horseless’ carriages. At a company board meeting he made this observation. “In 1902 there was one automobile to 65,000 people and by 1909 there was one vehicle for ever 800 people…I believe its time for us to build a Patterson horseless carriage.” On September 23, 1915 the first Patterson Two-Door Coupe rolled off the assembly line.

However, not being able to compete with the Henry Ford Motor Company, the Patterson’s closed their shop in 1939…This has been another Breath of My Ancestors Minute brought to you by the Institute of Radical Reconciliation… #WeMustNeverForget