OUR RICH OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE : FREDERICK DOUGLASS PATTERSON

Who is the first person that comes to mind when you think of the name “Frederick Douglas?” Most people would say, “Frederick Douglas” the famous Negro abolitionist who rose to fame with the 1845 publication of his first book The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Strangely enough, few Black People under the age of 40 have ever heard of “FREDERICK DOUGLAS PATTERSON,” the Negro Pioneer of the American Auto Industry who took over his Dad’s[ Charles Richard Patterson ] Carriage Business( The C.R. Patterson and Sons Company ) and drove it into the Automotive Era! Frederick Douglas Patterson was born on September 17, 1871 in Greenfield, Ohio to C.R. Patterson and Josephine Utz. Frederick Douglas Patterson attended Frederick graduated from the old Greenfield High School in 1888. After graduating,he enrolled at Ohio State University. During his Junior year, he became the first Negro to play on the Ohio State Football Team. Since money was tight, Frederick left college before his senior year, and took a teaching job in Louisville, Kentucky.While teaching was ok, Frederick felt a need to return home to help run his father’s business( with his younger brother, Samuel Patterson ). Frederick ended up taking over the business, after his father’s death in 1910.While noticing a trend in the growth of horseless carriages, Frederick decided to shift the business to automobiles.In 1915, the first Patterson automobile[ the Patterson-Greenfield ] roiled off the assembly line! The Patterson-Greenfield sold for $850 and was suggested to be a higher quality automobile than Henry Ford’s Model T. It had a forty horsepower Continental four-cylinder engine and reached a top speed of fifty miles per hour. It was reported that there were between 130 - 150 of the Patterson-Greenfield vehicles produced between 1915 - 1920. Due to the fact that Henry Ford had cornered the market and was selling his vehicles for less than $400, Frederick decided to shift the company’s focus on manufacturing buses and trucks. Additionally, because of the 1929 stock market crash, the company finances took a big hit. Frederick Douglas Patterson died on January 18,1932 ( the company closed its doors for good in 1939). HERITAGE" : FREDERICK DOUGLASS PATTERSON Who is the first person that comes to mind when you think of the name “Frederick Douglas?” Most people would say, “Frederick Douglas” the famous Negro abolitionist who rose to fame with the 1845 publication of his first book The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Strangely enough, few Black People under the age of 40 have ever heard of “FREDERICK DOUGLAS PATTERSON,” the Negro Pioneer of the American Auto Industry who took over his Dad’s[ Charles Richard Patterson ] Carriage Business( The C.R. Patterson and Sons Company ) and drove it into the Automotive Era! Frederick Douglas Patterson was born on September 17, 1871 in Greenfield, Ohio to C.R. Patterson and Josephine Utz. Frederick Douglas Patterson attended Frederick graduated from the old Greenfield High School in 1888. After graduating,he enrolled at Ohio State University. During his Junior year, he became the first Negro to play on the Ohio State Football Team. Since money was tight, Frederick left college before his senior year, and took a teaching job in Louisville, Kentucky.While teaching was ok, Frederick felt a need to return home to help run his father’s business( with his younger brother, Samuel Patterson ). Frederick ended up taking over the business, after his father’s death in 1910.While noticing a trend in the growth of horseless carriages, Frederick decided to shift the business to automobiles.In 1915, the first Patterson automobile[ the Patterson-Greenfield ] roiled off the assembly line! The Patterson-Greenfield sold for $850 and was suggested to be a higher quality automobile than Henry Ford’s Model T. It had a forty horsepower Continental four-cylinder engine and reached a top speed of fifty miles per hour. It was reported that there were between 130 - 150 of the Patterson-Greenfield vehicles produced between 1915 - 1920. Due to the fact that Henry Ford had cornered the market and was selling his vehicles for less than $400, Frederick decided to shift the company’s focus on manufacturing buses and trucks. Additionally, because of the 1929 stock market crash, the company finances took a big hit. Frederick Douglas Patterson died on January 18,1932 ( the company closed its doors for good in 1939).