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Gilbert Car Manufacturing Company, Troy |
This photograph was kindly contributed by Joan Howe
.
The submitter sends this excerpt from
Troy and Rensselaer County, NY - A History by Rutherford Hayner,
published in 1925, page 445:
Uri Gilbert in 1824 learned the art of carriage making. The business grew steadily,
the plant was enlarged, and the firm received contracts to build mail coaches
for the South and West. These vehicles for the US mail contract were called
"Troy Stages" and became well and widely known. For many years, the firm had a
monopoly in the building of omnibuses for all the large cities, and
later, streetcars and railroad cars were built by the firm, which became known
as the finest in the country. The firm built cars for all sections of the US
and South America, and their cars always held a deservedly leading place....
On August 25, 1832, the Gilbert Car Manufacturing Company was organized,
with Uri Gilbert as president.... On October 28, 1852, the company's
original plant on Sixth Street, Troy, was destroyed by fire.
In July 1853, the property was purchased by the Union Railroad Company,
at which time the Gilbert Car Manufacturing Company moved into an extensive
and commodious establishment on George and Clinton Streets, Green Island,
Troy, NY. The Company built the first eight-wheel passenger coaches that
were used on the Troy & Schenectady Railroad, and during the Civil War,
more than 500 gun-carriages were manufactured for the US Government.
Hon. Uri Gilbert, twice mayor of Troy, died June 17, 1888 at his summer home
on Clermont Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY.
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