Coachbult.com - New Haven Carriage & Auto Works



New Haven Carriage & Auto Works - 1910s-present - Portland, Oregon

New Haven Carriage & Auto Works – Portland, Oregon – (1920s – still in business) 1930s beverage truck body. Edward Muth and Richard Wagner were partners that owned New Haven Carriage & Auto Works. Muth died in 2000 after working over 50 years at the firm. New Haven Carriage Works - Owned by John Wagner. Mr. Wagner purchased the business from a man who lived in New Haven, Connecticut, thus the name. After Mr. Wagner's death the business was run by his three sons: Charles, Edward, and Richard. The business was originally located in Southwest Portland and later moved to Southeast Portland. The following Oregonian article was written to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this business in 1980:

Customizer ready for 100th birthday by Bob Olmos - The Oregonian

Horses to horsepower - that's the time bridge spanned by New Haven Carriage & Auto Works Inc., 2323 S.E. Clatsop St. The business, which started out making horse-drawn carriages and now customizes truck bodies, will celebrate its 100th birthday July 4. The date isn't the actual anniversary of the business founded in 1880 by Frank Tannader, a Swedish blacksmith from New Haven, Conn., No one today is certain just when Tannader opened up business at Northwest Fourth Avenue and Glisan Street. “But if you're going to pick a date to celebrate, you might as well pick a good one," said Richard Wagner, company president. With everyone geared up for the Fourth of July, July 3 seemed like a good time to hold an open house at the business location off McLoughlin Boulevard to observe the July 4 “birthday.” New Haven's business history is linked with that of other Oregon enterprises. “The company built all the horse-drawn wagons that Meier & Frank used to use at the turn of the century,” Wagner said. “Then when Meier & Frank went into trucks, we did that work, too. We still do all of Meier & Frank's customizing work.” Maletis Inc., Pacific Seafood Co. Inc., Pacific Coca-Cola Bottling Co. are other customers that help keep the business grossing around $350,000 per year. “Eighty-five percent of our business is return business - replacing and repairing equipment - rather than new customers,” said Wagner, 60, a native of Portland and a graduate of Jefferson High School. Wagner owns the business with Edward L. Muth, vice president. Tannader, who started his business in New Haven; moved to Oregon with the big rush of population to the West Coast during the last half of the 19th century. In 1904, John Wagner, born in Russia of German parents, started work in the shop and by 1912 he and his brother George had acquired the business. John bought George out in 1927. Later, John's three sons, Carl, Edward and Richard, joined the business. Carl and Edward are deceased. Muth, who started as an apprentice body builder in 1945, advanced through the years to shop foreman and became co-owner in 1978. “My father was a blacksmith,” Wagner said. “He came from a family of blacksmiths. In those days, the son always followed in the footsteps of their fathers.”From 1880 until 1909, the company operated as a general blacksmith shop building and repairing horse-drawn wagons. The first truck bodies were constructed in 1909 and by 1914 the last wagon was built. In 1916, the firm moved to Northwest Fifth Avenue and Everett Street. It was located at Southeast 11th Avenue and Main Street from 1956 [note: this date should be 1958] to 1972, at which time it moved to its present site.