By: Stan Jordan
Let’s starts with this photo of JB Johnson Furniture Factory built in 1924 and locally called “The Chair Factory.”
In about 1939 it was sold and renamed The Antwerp Parlor Furniture Co. It was doing well. During WWII, they made shipping boxes out of wood for the government at their specifications. Then after the war, from 1945 on, they were very busy with over 100 employees. Then the place was destroyed by fire in 1950.
Do you see these tall pilasters here? I think they stood alone like sentinals for many years. Then someone with authority made them get torn down and the lot sold to VFW. They were all demolished and hauled away and dumped as fill for the United Methodist Church and that’s a story in itself.
Up until 1930 or so, US 24 east of the Methodist church went into a valley, it was quite a hill and drop off. There was even a house and barn in that valley about where the north side of the church is.
Before they paved US 24, they hauled in lots of fill to make it about even to the east and west like it is now.
Then in early 1960’s all of the debris from the burning of the Antwerp Parlor Furniture building was cleaned up and dumped in that low valley.
I think the last people to live in that house and barn was George Pierman.
There have been more repairs on that old US 24 over the years and even moved over to where US 24 is now.
See ya!
