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��Concord, New Hampshire.
��The character and enterprise of the citizens of Concord have given the city an enviable reputation throughout our own country and in foreign lands.
Perhaps the industry which has given Concord the most fame is the coach and carriage making business. The Abbot- Downing Company is not only one of the oldest, but one of the largest estab- lishments for the manufacturing of carriages in the United States. They employ about two hundred and fifty men, many of whom have grown old in their shops ; and they pride them- selves on the acknowledged excellence of all their work. Anciently it was all hand-work, but now improved machine- ry has come into use. Then appren- tices served six years, and worked from twelve to fifteen hours a day ; now the firm depend on their old hands. They make a great variety of carriages, and their market is the world. Lewis Down- ing, jun., is the president, and Frank L. Abbot is the secretary, of the corpora- tion.
Carriage manufacturing in Concord has been for many years a very impor- tant industry, contributing materially to the character and prosperity of the community. In May, 18 13, Lewis Downing, then a young man twenty- one years of age, came to the village from Lexington, where he had learned the wheelwright's trade, and opened a shop on Main Street, just south of Dr. W. G. Carter's residence. His capital consisted of a very small amount of money (mostly invested in a good set of tools), a clear head, skilful hands, and good habits. He commenced building common wagons with the body fastened down to the hind axle ; and for the first year he worked alone. The iron- work for the wagons was done at the State prison, and paid for in wood-work : he
��painted the wagons himself, and readily sold them. The second year he em- ployed two assistants. In 1815 he purchased his late home at the south end, known as the Duncan estate ; and the following year he built a small shop in the rear, for wood-work and painting, and moved his business there. The business grew apace, for several years confined to the manufacture of wagons. The first attempt at a spring was of wood, reaching from the hind axle to the rocker, followed by the leather thor- ough-brace, and successive styles of side steel springs. Mr. Downing ne- glected to get a patent for side-springs, an oversight involving the loss of a large amount of money, which he might have very honorably secured. In 1825 he commenced erecting the shops near his house ; and, the year after, he began to make the old-fashioned chaise. The first one finished was sold to Rev. Dr. Bouton.
In 1826 Mr. Downing resolved to commence in Concord the manufacture of coaches. He accordingly went to Salem in search of a skilled laborer, and obtained the services of J. S. Abbot to build these coaches. He arrived here Christmas Eve, 1826. He was a young man who was destined to have consid- erable influence, and effect important improvements, in the village. In the winter and spring of 1827 were made the first coach-bodies ever built in the State. A partnership between the two men was entered into Jan. i, 1828, and coach-building immediately became a leading feature of their business. The lightness, durability, and elegance of finish of their coaches found for them a ready market. During the first year they had four forges, which number was increased from time to time as their growing business demanded. The
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