![]() His 1894 Albany County Fair exhibit consisted of several two-horse business buggies, top buggies, open buggies, a single pleasure sleigh, a two-horse three-seated surrey, a two-horse business wagon, and a fancy baker’s wagon.Įver the aggressive businessman, Warner opened a branch showroom in Albany at 100 State Street and a second one in Halfmoon. Locally, he entered big displays at both the Cobleskill and Albany County (later Altamont) fairs. A quotation from the Albany Evening Journal noting that his display at this fair “cannot be equaled in the quantity of goods,” was reprinted by The Enterprise. VanBenscoten seemed to be a silent partner.Īn astute businessman, Warner promoted the business by exhibiting his product at a New England and New York fair held near Troy in 1892. Warner continued the business on alone, though Mrs. Jacob VanBenscoten died in December 1889, dissolving the partnership. The workers had difficulty producing enough to meet the demand, enjoying the most prosperous year yet, to be followed by an even more profitable year in 1889. In addition to their local area sales, an out-of-town “wholesale house” ordered 35 carriages. The year 1888 brought in orders for 40 wagons, most needed for farmers’ chores or used by grocers or other businesses. The carriage works’ vehicles were described in the special 1897 Enterprise feature “A Tour Among Our Business Concerns” as products that combined “lightness and strength, style and finish, superior workmanship unexcelled.” With many made to order for individual customers, these vehicles offered buyers “such springs, trimmings or painted to suit your taste without extra expenses.” Other generic wagons and carriages were made to be offered in the factory repository (showroom) section to potential buyers who simply stopped in at short notice. Four departments had workers doing woodworking, “ironing” or attaching metal parts, trimming the upholstery and roof coverings, and painting. Such an unprecedented number of orders poured in for carriages and wagons that the carriage works resumed operation at full capacity, hardly able to keep up with the demand. By mid-December 1886, potential customers were being urged to contact the owners with their orders for carriages or wagons. That November after rebuilding the 40-by-100-foot physical plant, the business began stocking the raw materials needed to begin full production in January 1887. Community members feared the reputable and successful business that provided employment for many workers would relocate elsewhere, but fortunately for the village VanBenscoten and Warner made the decision to rebuild next to its original site.Īccording to The Enterprise, VanBenscoten was able to buy a building site from the Lockwood Estate adjoining their original location. Knowersville’s devastating April 1886 fire wiped out several buildings, affecting a number of businesses and destroying the carriage operation at a $3,000 loss. The shop proved such a profitable enterprise that, instead of turning out the 150 vehicles originally projected for 1885, the owners now planned to produce 200. Proving to be a lucrative business in that era of horse-drawn transportation, their manufacture of carriages, surreys, wagons, and sleighs on site by skilled craftsmen attracted customers from many towns in Albany and other nearby counties. ![]() Warner, although the site of the carriage shop itself remained at the Lockwood Estate. Lockwood’s death, Jacob VanBenscoten formed a partnership with Charles B. The carriage shop was built for Henry Lockwood and William and Jacob VanBenscoten on Lockwood’s property.Īfter Mr. VanBenscoten & Warner’s Carriage Works, established on Knowersville’s Church Street (now Maple Avenue) was one of these enterprises, producing a variety of horse-drawn vehicles for four decades. During the second half of the 19th Century, New York State was dotted with small factories that had sprung up in both cities and small towns.
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