The C. R. Patterson and Sons Company operated a factory at 138 N. Washington Street near this site. Established in the mid-nineteenth century by black businessman Charles Richard Patterson and his white partner, J. P. Lowe, the business began as J. P. Lowe and Company and became a successful carriage firm. Patterson became sole owner in 1893 and renamed it C. R. Patterson and Sons. After succeeding his father, Frederick Patterson became the first known African-American automobile manufacturer. Under his leadership, the company shifted from building carriages to automobiles, then to trucks and buses as transportation demands changed. Frederick was also the first black student to attend Greenfield High School, broke Ohio State University's school color barrier for sports in 1891 by playing on the football team, and was elected president of the class of 1893. He helped develop the Negro Business League and served for several years as a vice-president under Booker T. Washington. In 1924, he became the first black delegate to represent Ohio at the Republican National Convention. The company remained in the Patterson family for three generations until a series of factors, including the Great Depression, forced the factory to close in 1939.