Harris Manufacturing Company.

William Pond Harris (1846-1915), a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, came to Johnson City, Tenn., in 1890 to serve as construction superintendent in the building of the Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad (The 3 C).

When the Panic of 1893 ended the construction project, Harris worked for a few years as division superintendent for the Plant rail system before returning to Johnson City. In 1898, he established the Harris Manufacturing Company. Initially, the company produced a variety of wooden products, including plow handles, golf club shafts, slats, broom handles, and wagon wheel rims. In 1908, the firm began to focus on making strip flooring. Harris Manufacturing became one of the largest producers of hardwood flooring in the world. It formally incorporated under the laws of Tennessee on June 20, 1910.

During the early 1900s, the firm prospered. Harris Flooring Company was established in 1912 in New York City to sell the flooring in the large northeast market.

As manufacturing expanded at the Johnson City plant, other plants were established or competing companies purchased. This included the establishment of Harris Hardwood Company in Roanoke, Virginia., in 1919 and acquisition of the existing Cherokee Flooring Corp. at Burlington, North Carolina, in 1928. Allen Harris, Sr., became the president of the company in 1915 upon the death of his father, W.P. Harris.

During World War II, the company produced tent pins, dummy shells and inner cans for the radio proximity projectile for the U.S. Miltary After the war, the company prospered during the postwar housing and construction boom. The introduction by the company of BondWood, a parquet flooring manufactured under Swiss license, greatly increased the revenues and revolutionized both its product lines and the American flooring industry. BondWood and plank flooring would become primary products of the company in the years that followed. In 1960, Harris acquired Miller Brothers lumber business in Johnson City.

Allen Harris, Jr., who joined the firm in 1929, succeeded his father as company president in 1968. He would hold this position until 1983, when the firm was sold to the Swedish Match Company, which merged it with the Swedish flooring company Tarkett AB into Harris-Tarkett. Allen Harris, Jr., remained as vice chairman of the new company until his death on April 24, 1992.

William P. Harris married Ida Florence Potter (1853-1936) of Rockford, Illinois in 1872, and the couple had four children: Florence (later Mrs. George Torrey Wofford), William H. Harris (1876-1941), who resided in later years in Los Angeles, Calif., Allen Harris (1878-1973), and Lester Potter Harris (1893-1918), who was killed while serving in the U.S. Army in France during World War I. The Harris family helped establish St. John's Episcopal Church and was generous supporters of the Johnson City Public Library, among other civic causes. Mrs. Harris was first president of the Monday Club.

Allen Harris, Sr., was born in Montclair, New Jersey, in 1878, the son of William P. and Ida Potter Harris. He married Torrey Stanley of Corinth, Mississippi, in 1902. The couple had one son, Allen Harris, Jr. Allen, Sr., joined the family business in 1902 and served as either president or chairman of the board from 1915 until his death in 1973. He was the first chairman of the Johnson City Power Board, president of the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association, president of the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce, and active in many civic organizations, including the Rotary Club. He was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church. Torrey Stanley Harris was an active supporter of the Girl Scouts.

Allen Harris, Jr., was born in Johnson City in 1906, the son of Allen Harris, Sr., and Torrey Stanley Harris. He followed his father into management of Harris Manufacturing following his graduation from Washington and Lee University in 1927 and Harvard University in 1929. He married Ruth Roberts of Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1947 and had two adopted children, Allen (Chip) Harris, III, who died in 1990, and Eva Stanley Harris. During World War II, Harris served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Allen, Jr., like his father before him, was president of the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association and the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce. He also served as president of the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association, president of the East Tennessee State University Foundation, the Johnson City Medical Center, and the Lumber Trade Association. He was very active in St. John's Episcopal Church and the Rotary Club, among other civic and social activities.

The Harris Foundation established bythe Harris family has supported many area projects over the years, including the Johnson City Boys Club, Johnson City Public Library, and an endowed chair in business at ETSU.

From the description of Harris Manufacturing Company records and Harris family papers, 1850-1990 and undated. (East Tennessee State University). WorldCat record id: 213357982