The C.R. Patterson & Sons Story

The C.R. Patterson and Sons Story. . , The story of the Patterson family begins in 1841 when Charles and Nancy Patterson moved to Greenfield from Virginia with their son, Charles Richard (C.R.). C.R. would have been around 8 years old. The Pattersons were free people of color however, life in Virginia for free Blacks was not easy as they were discriminated against and in many cases treated poorly. The move north to Ohio and the so-called “free” land offered better opportunities, both personally and professionally., The Pattersons found their way to Greenfield, which luckily for them, had been a town long known for holding strong abolitionist views., After reaching adulthood, C.R. eventually gained employment as a blacksmith at a local carriage maker. Within a few years he held the position of foreman with several Whites working under him., C.R. became very well respected in the community and a prominent citizen of the town. In 1873, he entered a partnership with a White man named James P. Lowe and they opened their own carriage making business. In 1893, Lowe sold his share of the business to Patterson. C.R.'s business became very successful, being known for its quality work and fine craftmanship., In 1886 C.R. Patterson sued the all white Greenfield High School due to the school and superintendent refusing to allow his son, Frederick, to attend. At the time the Board of Education provided elementary and grammar schools for the negro students separate from the white students but only provided one high school. In April 1887, the judge ruled that the Board and Superintendent immediately admit Frederick Patterson. Fred became the FIRST African-American to graduate from Greenfield., Frederick entered Ohio State University in the fall of 1889. Fred was a member of the Horton Literary Society and was the Corresponding Secretary and Vice President of the group. He was also on the Lantern's (OSU's student newspaper) staff and was the business manager. He was elected class president of the class of 1893 but left OSU before graduating to take a teaching position in Kentucky., In 1891 Fred became a sub on the Ohio State University football team making him the FIRST black football player at OSU. In a Thanksgiving Day game against Kenyon College Fred entered the game as a substitute and scored a touchdown again making history at OSU., In 1896 Frederick left his teaching position to return to Greenfield to help his father and brother, Samuel, in the carriage business. Samuel died under mysterious circumstances in 1899., The Patterson carriages became quite popular in the local area and their business extended to reach customers across several states. This became possible by the company's heavy use of advertising in both local newspapers and publications that reached both statewide and nationwide audiences. Some of these advertisements targeted a specific audience, such as physicians or the Black community, while others were meant for a general audience. The family involvement with certain organizations also aided the increase in sales for the company. Other times, sales were based entirely on the merit of their products, such as a special winter buggy that the company developed and patented that was seen as being superior to many other styles available at the time., C.R. Patterson died in 1910 at the age of 77, and his son Frederick took over the company. At this time the carriage business was rapidly dwindling owing to the rise of the automobile. Frederick began a company transition into the automobile era by incorporating automobile repair into the services provided by the company, while at the same time, still building carriages., On September 23, 1915, the First Patterson-Greenfield automobile rolled out the door of The Patterson Company. Frederick Patterson became the first and only Black automobile manufacturer!, The Patterson automobiles were high quality, just as his carriages had been, but Fred soon realized that he could not compete with the large automakers in Detroit. Business declined and in 1918 the Patterson-Greenfield automobile was discontinued. During 1915-1918 around 150 Patterson-Greenfield automobiles were sold., The Pattersons shifted their focus to building special purpose vehicles such as buses and trucks, which were in high demand. Learning from their manufacturing of automobiles, they did not completely depend on this new focus of the company alone for income and still built carriages, as well as expanding the automobile repair services., The Patterson Company felt it could succeed by starting to build motorized school buses. In 1929 the company had an output of 500 bodies per year and an annual income of just over $150,000. They had the reputation of building the best bus body in the State of Ohio. They held contracts with school boards across Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky and held commercial contracts in several states., The Pattersons built the main fleet of school buses for the Greenfield School. E.L. McClain wanted the school buses painted the color green for Greenfield and with gold leaf lettering., The company became known as Greenfield Bus Body Company and was successful well into the 1930's, when the Great Depression and other factors caused them to fall on hard times. The Pattersons did what they could to keep ahead of the crumbling economy, including a return to automobile repair as well as body and fender work., The Patterson factory had an integrated workforce, blacks and whites working side by side., Frederick Patterson died unexpectedly in 1932 at the age of 61 from a stroke. The company was left in the control of his two sons, Frederick Postell and Samuel Postell, the third generation of the family., National Negro Business League 1907 Fred pictured Top Left as 2nd Vice President., Frederick Patterson and Wife Bettie Postell with sons Frederick Postell and Postell Patterson., C.R. became one of the wealthiest men in the town and raised his family here. His sons became partners in the business and the company passed through several generations of the Patterson Family., C.R. and Frederick Patterson were inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2021., C.R. Patterson was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2025.