- Term
Abbott and Downing Company
- Alternate Term
Abbot and Downing Company
Abbott Downing Company
Abbott, Downing & Company
- Geography
Concord, NH
- Date
active 1813-1920
- Remarks
Wheelwright Lewis Downing (1792-1873) began building carriages in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1813. In 1826 he formed the partnership Abbot Downing Company with carriage designer J. Stephen Abbot (1804-1871). They produced the Concord Coach, a stagecoach design that revolutionized commercial transportation in the 19th century. Their partnership dissolved in 1847, and Downing and Abbot each went into business with his son. When Lewis Downing retired in 1865, his two sons merged again with J.S. and E.A. Abbot and Company under the name Abbot Downing & Company. The firm incorporated in 1873 under the name Abbot-Downing Company. By the mid-1870s the company had several branch offices in American cities and in Australia. As horse-drawn transportation declined at the end of the 19th century, Abbot-Downing lost its dominance. It diversified into ambulances, gun carriages, circus and specialty wagons, and truck bodies.
- See Also