 A later model Columbus-Firestone automobile in 1909 | |
| Company type | Buggy and automobile producer |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive manufacturing |
| Predecessor | Iron Buggy Co. |
| Founded | 1875 in Columbus, Ohio[1] |
| Defunct | 1913 |
| Fate | Declared bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Clinton D. Firestone, George Peters and Oscar Glaze Peters |
| Products | Buggys, automobiles |
| Revenue | $2 million (1892)[1] |
Number of employees | 1,200 (1892)[1] |
The Columbus Buggy Company was an early buggy and automotive manufacturer based in Columbus, Ohio, United States, from 1875 to 1913.
Begun by three business partners, the company set up its manufacturing facilities in what is today the Arena District producing inexpensive buggies and dashboards, and quickly saw success. At its height it employed 1,200 people and was producing 100 buggies a day which were sold in every state in the United States. The company was one of the city's major employers and a significant portion of the city's buggy manufacturing economy. After the turn of the century it oriented itself toward production of electric vehicles and, later, of automobiles. Crippled by the Great Flood of 1913 and unable to compete with cheaper alternatives like the Model T, the company eventually went bankrupt in 1913, reorganized, and closed its doors a few years later.
It influenced the early automobile industry production methods and several notable employees, including Eddie Rickenbacker and Harvey S. Firestone. The company buildings, after some time empty, have since been re-developed as office space in the Arena District.
- ^ a b c Lentz, Ed 2003, p. 86.