GREENFIELD, Ohio — Geenfield is preparing to celebrate the legacy of C.R. Patterson & Sons, America’s first and only black-owned and operated automobile company. The Pattersons’ contributions to the transportation industry and their civic efforts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries will be recognized with a commemorative event on June 3. The event will include a dedication of the renaming of Industrial Park Drive to Patterson Way and the unveiling of a mural honoring the Pattersons’ accomplishments.
It all started in 1873 when Charles Richard (C.R.) Patterson and J.P. Lowe founded a carriage firm. Twenty years later, Patterson bought out Lowe and the company became C.R. Patterson & Sons. Later, C.R.’s oldest son, Frederick, a college-educated student, returned to Greenfield to help his father run the company. Frederick was the first black student to attend Greenfield’s high school and became the first black football player at The Ohio State University, where he was also elected class president.
When C.R. passed away in 1910, Frederick took over management of the company. By that time, the company also included automobile repair and services, as Frederick had convinced his father that automobiles were the future. In 1915, the Patterson-Greenfield automobile was introduced, making it the largest black-owned and operated manufacturing company in the country, employing about 50 people, according to Tom Smith, a historian and collector. The company later went on to manufacture buses and trucks.
In 2021, Charles Richard and son Frederick were inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit, Michigan. Smith not only attended the ceremony, but lent one of his Patterson buggies to be displayed there.
To commemorate the accomplishments of the Pattersons, Greenfield is renaming Industrial Park Drive to Patterson Way, located in the South Central Ohio Industrial Park on the north end of the village. In addition to this, a mural by a local artist has been commissioned for the downtown.
The official commemoration will take place Saturday, June 3, 2023, beginning at 10:30 a.m. in downtown Greenfield, beside 414 Jefferson St. The speakers, who will each deliver a detailed piece of Patterson history, will include historian and 1962 McClain graduate George Ford, longtime sports writer and author Mark Rea, and ODOT Director and historian Dr. Jack Marchbanks.