Page 36 - North Haven Magazine Issue 39 Summer 2025

Edward C. Downs of North Haven (third from the left) and his
brother carriage builders… (Dana Scrapbook)

by Julie Hulten

EDWARD CROSSWELL DOWNS
EDWARD CROSSWELL DOWNS
EDWARD CROSSWELL DOWNS
EDWARD CROSSWELL DOWNS

Carriage Designer for a Queen

Hooker Company in late 1887, Ed-
ward became one of their chief de-
signers. He may have been among
those who visited Europe to learn
the latest fashions and novelties. In
1893, he narrowly escaped injury
when a wall in the Hooker factory
collapsed. Down’s designs includ-
Four in Hand Break in front of the Henry ed a gold and plush carriage creat-
Hooker Carriage Company in 1901. (Dana) ed for Queen Liliuokalani, the last
Serendipity is a wondrous thing. queen of Hawaii.
While hunting down information Between 1900 and 1912, local
for a Sleeping Giant-related query, newspapers reported successful
this caught my eye. social events, primarily whist par-
ties, given by Mrs. Downs. Mary
In the mid-to late 19th century, “disappears” after 1912. Though
New Haven was a, if not the, hub details of her death and her final
in American carriage making. By resting place are unknown, as best
1860, New Haven sported over I can find, she died in 1927 at 62.
sixty carriage manufacturers who
sold to all parts of the United An article in Carriage Journal main-
States, the West Indies, Central tains that the Hooker Company
and South America, the Pacific, went out of business in 1901; how-
and Asia. The industry remained ever, the 1912 New Haven City Di-
“healthy” into the 20th century. A Downs at 30 (Dana) rectory lists Downs as a draftsman
prominent business was the Henry still employed by that company.
Hooker Company, located at Grove One can speculate that pay at the That directory first uses the word
and State Streets. Hooker Company for someone of “automobile” in its 1900 edition.
Downs’ skills was significant. In Downs continued to design for
Edward Downs, son of William and 1911, the New Haven Union report- Hooker into the early 1900s. Now,
Maria Leek Downs, was born in ed that Mrs. Downs, having spent however, he was designing auto-
New Haven in 1861. After marry- the summer at their “cottage” on mobile bodies.
ing Mary E. Sherman of Bridgeport Hartford Turnpike in North Haven,
in 1885, the couple rented on Eld was reopening her home in New Upon the closure of the Hooker
Street in New Haven. Joining the Haven. Company, Ed seems to have retired

36 North Haven Magazine - Summer 2025