Nappanee Carriage Company

Built 1899

The Carriage Company was originally the Rupp Carriage Works. It had moved from Milford to Nappanee in 1891 and outgrew the original factory that they were in Nappanee.

Mr. Rupp, Miller, and Cosper entered into a partnership and started negotiating to purchase a lot that had been used as a lumber yard. It was decided from there to build a forty-four-foot by eighty-foot brick building.

Mr. Frazier was the architect of the project. The building was to be three stories high and have all the conveniences and modern improvements. It would have a galvanized iron and plate glass on the front and it was styled after the Coppes Hotel. The first story was a platted glass for a display of Rupp vehicles in carriages, buggies, and road wagons.

Fred Rupp moved to Kendallville after coming to the Nappanee area. It is unsure when they started to call the carriage works, Nappanee Carriage Works.