Dublin Core
Title
Hill Auto Company
Subject
Downtown Businesses
Description
Hill Auto Company, located on the southwest side of the traffic circle at Royal Avenue and Huntsville Road, is believed to be the second filling and service station built in Florence. The owner of the service station, Fred Hill, also ran the Hill Cab Company from the service station for the people of Florence. Also known as Hill’s Woco Pep Station, the station faced competition from two other automobile services right in that traffic circle area: the Oil Well service station and the Doc Phillips auto repair shop.
The Hill family originated in Germany and Fred Hill’s father, Augustus Henry Hill immigrated to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, when Augustus was a young boy. Augustus Hill is said to be the first plumber ever in the city of Florence. During the Great Depression, the Hill family, especially Augustus, had financial problems because the city of Florence could not pay money owed to the elder Hill. As a result, he lost a row of property and turned to barbering as a means of a new income. According to the Hill family, Augustus and Rube Martin, who owned a grocery store next door, are believed to be the first white barbers in Florence. Fred Hill owned and operated the Hill Auto Company, the Hill Cab Company, and was an automobile dealer for Oakland Motor Car Company. Without a doubt, the Hill family was an important part of the automobile servicer business in Florence at Sweetwater.
The Hill family originated in Germany and Fred Hill’s father, Augustus Henry Hill immigrated to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, when Augustus was a young boy. Augustus Hill is said to be the first plumber ever in the city of Florence. During the Great Depression, the Hill family, especially Augustus, had financial problems because the city of Florence could not pay money owed to the elder Hill. As a result, he lost a row of property and turned to barbering as a means of a new income. According to the Hill family, Augustus and Rube Martin, who owned a grocery store next door, are believed to be the first white barbers in Florence. Fred Hill owned and operated the Hill Auto Company, the Hill Cab Company, and was an automobile dealer for Oakland Motor Car Company. Without a doubt, the Hill family was an important part of the automobile servicer business in Florence at Sweetwater.
Creator
M.C. Fesmire, University of North Alabama
Source
Text Sources:
McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." photos by L.D. Staggs, Jr. Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003.
Picture Source:
UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Hill Auto Company.” Florence, Alabama. Box 13: Downtown Business, 13-41.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "Remembering Sweetwater: The Mansions, The Mills, The People." photos by L.D. Staggs, Jr. Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2002.
McDonald, William Lindsey. "A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama." Killen, Ala., Bluewater Publications, 2003.
Picture Source:
UNA Archives & Special Collection. William L. McDonald Collection. “Hill Auto Company.” Florence, Alabama. Box 13: Downtown Business, 13-41.
Publisher
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
Date
Early Twentieth Century
Format
Image