Morning Ride & Photo Shoot - 1930 Hartford

[Gary Mc]

We have had torrential rains almost daily all summer in the Atlanta GA area so the Hartford had been ridden very little and I hadn't had a good opportunity to take decent pics of it since it was finished. So this morning we had a bright sunny day and I decided to take it out for a spin in downtown Buford GA and take some photos. Most of the photos were taken at the Bona Allen Tannery Row in downtown Buford. The tannery was originally a shoe, saddle, horse collar, and leather manufacturing factory and is a fairly large complex. The tannery closed in 1981 and the complex is up for sale but currently houses an Artists colony, a couple of restaurants, and an antique store. It is a really neat location and great for photo shoots. There were two other huge Bona Allen factory buildings at the other end of main street in Buford. One is currently used for some retail establishments and the other burned down in 1981. Buford is a pretty neat "artsy" little town with some really great locally owned high end restaurants (Sperata & Aqua Terra Bistro) and a pretty large night scene with bands nightly at one establishment called 37 Main. The whole place still has the small town feel to it even though it's just 30 miles north of Atlanta.

Buford had a lot of excitement lately as the Kiki Productions crew just exited Buford, they had been here filming scenes for a movie titled "Blended" with Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Kevin Nealon, & Chelsea Handler. It will be pretty neat to see how much of my town actually makes it in to the movie.

Here's the Bona Allen Company write-up on Wikipedia for anyone interested:

"The Bona Allen Company is a tannery that was opened in 1873 in Buford, Georgia. The building is now a historic monument and houses many art galleries.

Bonaparte Allen learned the trade of tanning from his father, Washington Allen. Bonaparte opened the Bona Allen Company at the age of 27 and operated it as a tannery and leather goods shop. It started off making whiplashes, then followed with the production of horse collars. In 1903, a fire swept through the building and destroyed the business and the entire building. Allen lost everything. But, thanks to his established business track record, a local bank loaned him the money he needed to re-establish and rebuild his business. It didn't take Bonaparte long to restore his thriving business and pay off all of his debt.

In 1925, Bonaparte Allen died. He left everything to his sons, Bona Jr., John, and Victor. They took over their father's business and continued to produce what some people have deemed the country’s finest leather. The Great Depression of the early 1930s had a positive effect on the Company's tannery. The nation's farmers could no longer afford to operate their tractors, so they had to return to using horses. This, in turn, created a demand for saddles and collars, as well as all other horse related equipment.

The Bona Allen Company continued to expand and soon was selling groceries and dried goods in addition to its leather products. In 1933, a Bona Allen saddle won a blue ribbon at the Chicago World’s Fair. At the fair, The Bona Allen Company provided several jobs as well as entertainment; it sponsored many sports events and teams such as basketball, football, and the Bona Allen Company's own baseball team. In 1941, a strike was called and shut down the Company's shoe plant. Six months later, the government stepped in and reopened the shoe plant to repair army shoes. The Company's collar factory was closed for good after WWII.

The Bona Allen Company received special acclaim in the 1950s for production of its classic saddles. During the peak of western movies, many of Hollywood's famous cowboy actors, including Roy Rogers, William F. ("Buffalo Bill") Cody, Gene Autry, Kenny Rogers, Lash LaRue, Gabby Hayes, and the cast of the popular TV show "Bonanza, " preferred a Bona Allen saddle—some even bringing their horses to Buford, Georgia, to get them custom fitted. To head its saddle department, the Company hired Victor Alexander, a famous saddle expert from the King Ranch in Texas. Under his management, the Bona Allen Company produced some of the finest hand-tooled saddles and bridles ever made, including a silver-studded special order saddle for Roy Rogers.

Bonaparte Allen also owned up to 200 houses that he would rent to his employees; the houses would typically rent for $4.00 to $12.00 per month. Some employee could buy them with no down payment. In 1932, the Bona Allen Company hit the peak of its employment: 2,200 people worked there until rough times hit in 1943, when it closed its horse collar factory, shoe and chrome tannery—dropping its total employee headcount to 500. Following the death of John Allen in 1968, the tannery and saddle and harness factories were sold to Tandy Corporation. The railroad depot closed in 1972, and the demand for horse-related leather goods decreased. While Tandy Corp. continued operations for a few years under the Bona Allen name, after the devastating tannery fire in December 1981, they chose not to rebuild, and the last of the Bona Allen Company's 160 employees were let go.

Tannery Row currently is an artist colony. A statue of Roy Rogers, his horse Trigger, and saddle-maker Jack Johnson now stands in downtown Buford’s park as a tribute to the tannery."

At Bona Allen Tannery Row in Buford GA

 

[Gary Mc]

More Photos At Bona Allen Tannery Row in Buford GA

 

[Gary Mc]

More Photos at Bona Allen Tannery Row in Buford GA





Statue in Downtown Buford GA of Roy Rogers, Trigger, and saddle-maker Jack Johnson commemorating Tannery Row.



Downtown Buford GA

 

[jerrykr]

More Photos At Bona Allen Tannery Row in Buford GA

My pic of all of the pics is this one.

Very nice bike!

 

[texasbigjon]

that is such a beautiful looking bike and a great location for the pics too!

 

[B607]

More Photos At Bona Allen Tannery Row in Buford GA

My pic of all of the pics is this one.

Very nice bike!

Beautiful bike and I agree, this is the best pic. It's the best because of the contrast of the dark background. Gary

 

[aka_locojoe]

Great photos.