Allen Tannery exterior

Creator

N. R. Allen Sons Company

Date

• 1870

Summary

• The N. R. Allen’s Sons Tannery as it was in 1870, only a few years after being established, before growing into one of the largest tanneries in the country. At the time N. R. Allen’s Sons Tannery workers were cutting their first leather sole strips by hand. Bundled strips were thrown out the window onto a one-horse wagon to be carried to the railroad freight house. A dirt road on the right, Grand Avenue (now 52nd Street), crosses a wooden bridge across Pike Creek, and leads to the railroad. This photograph was likely taken from the top of the Pennoyer Water Cure. (Duplicate of 385.)
• Between 1856 and 1927, N. R. Allen Sons Company, Inc., founded by Nathan Allen and Levi Grant, produced leather products such as horse harnesses, saddle skirting, shoes, and strap leather for World War I. Between 1926 and 1927, the United States Leather Company of Manhattan gained control over the tannery, ended operations and production in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and moved them to Grand Rapids, Michigan.