The Abbot-Downing Company was a stagecoach and carriage builder in Concord, New Hampshire. It became known throughout the United States for its products, particularly the first Concord stagecoach.

Lewis Downing, a wheelwright, had been in the wagon-building business in Concord, New Hampshire, since 1813, but in 1826, he saw the need for a new type of road coach. Requiring the skills of an expert coach and bodybuilder, Downing soon partnered with J. Stephens Abbot, forming a new company, Abbott and Downing, in 1827. Though the organization manufactured over 40 different types of carriages and wagons, it became world-renowned for its Concord Stagecoach. Their stagecoaches were built solidly, quickly gained a reputation for not breaking down, and rode more smoothly due to a thorough brace design feature.

This leather strap, made of many layers, supported the stagecoach’s body, enabling it to swing back and forth and absorb the road’s shocks. Over the years, thousands of coaches were produced and sent all over the world, and their basic design changed very little.

After twenty years in business together, Abbot and Downing went their separate ways in an amicable split. However, both companies continued to build Concord Coaches. When Lewis Downing retired in 1865, his sons took over and soon merged again with the Abbot Company, manufacturing coaches, carriages, and wagons under the name of Abbott-Downing until 1919.

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2025.

Also See:

Cowboys, Trailblazers & Stagecoach Drivers 

The Overland Stage and Telegraph Lines

Stagecoach Kings (Lines) & Drivers

Stagecoaches of the American

See Sources.