Charles Richard Patterson

Charles "Rich" Richard Patterson (1833–1910) was an African-American carriage manufacturer, entrepreneur and civil rights activist. He founded precursor companies to C.R. Patterson and Sons.

Early life Patterson was born in April 1833 as a slave on a Virginia plantation. He was the oldest of the thirteen children of Charles and Nancy Patterson. Together they had six children, including Frederick "Fred" Douglass.

Career He initially worked at Dines and Simpson Carriage and Coach Makers Company, and learned blacksmithing. Charles Patterson later formed a partnership with James P. Lowe (J. P. Lowe), a white man, they created J.P. Lowe & Company in 1873. The verdict came in April 1887, and Patterson was allowed to attend the public school Greenfield High School. Patterson & Sons' features included winter and stormy weather usage and sliding side-door entry, the mounting rails uniquely located inside the carriage, protecting them from sleet, ice and the ensuing jams commonly experienced in competitive carriages. Their mounting rail technique was the precursor to the decades later technology used in vans and minivans. In 1915 the Patterson-Greenfield automobile was introduced, though it withdrawn 3 years later, unable to compete with the larger automotive companies. In 1939 the Patterson company permanently closed.