Florence Wagon Works Site

Florence Wagon Works Site

National Register of Historic Places; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL; Industry

The 1889 Florence Wagon Works was the largest wooden wagon manufacturer in the United States producing 15,000 wagons a year. The most popular, the Florence Light Running Wagon helped settle the West, especially Texas, and was important in France during World War I. The company manufactured and sold other models as well as parts. The company directly employed 175 employees, both white and African American. The Works was said to pay its employees over $100,000 a year and indirectly affected the local economy by as much as $300, 000 a year. Demand for wagons dropped dramatically with the mass production of cars and trucks and the business closed in 1941 leaving the building to slowly deteriorate.

Currently only ruins exist where once a thriving industry prospered. Only stonewalls, foundations, and a railroad trestle remain but due to a progression of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps the original configuration of factories, mills and warehouses is known. The site is significant for what the archeological remains may tell us about Florence’s industrial past.

The site was placed on the National Register in 1996 and the nomination includes relevant area Sanborn maps. The site is currently owned by TVA.

Missy Brown, University of North Alabama

Ford, Gene A. National Register Nomination “Florence Wagon Works Site” (#96000596) (6/13/96).

Alabama Cultural Resource Survey

1889 - 1941

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Photo - From National Register Nomination