Thomasville Furniture Industries demolition begins

THOMASVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — Nicknamed the chair city, the Thomasville Chair Company was created in 1904.

Just six years later, the Finch brothers bought it, and Thomasville Furniture company was born. The factory on West Main Street was one of the sites where furniture was made every day, becoming one of the largest manufacturers in the country.

Now, the rubble of red brick is a symbol of days long gone and a place that meant a lot to people.

“All the blood sweat and tears … went into the furniture that we made here,” said Cheryl Hancock, a former employee.

Hancock worked at three of the Thomasville Furniture Industries plants, including the one on West Main Street.

“I was happy to get a job here,” said Hancock, looking at the demolition site Tuesday afternoon.

At the historic Finch House, the evolution of furniture manufacturing adorns the walls. Photos show the way the Finches shaped the city’s growth through TFI.

Rusty Slate, a local business owner, has been in the chair city for 66 years and says TFI leaving was a big blow.

“It just left this town high and dry,” he said.

They started shutting the plants down in 2001 and shut down the last TFI plant in Dec. 2006 and sent manufacturing overseas. Hancock remembers everything about that month.

“It’s sad. Everybody lost their jobs … Once you work here a while, you become more than just friends. You become family,” she said.

Looking out over the remains of a job she says she loved, Hancock says she will hold onto the good memories.

“They would give us extra breaks in the summertime and buy ice cream for all the departments … They didn’t have to do things like that,” Hancock said.

The city is saving some of the original floor tiles with the TFI logo and hopes to find a place to display them.

As for the site itself, it will be leveled and made suitable for something like apartments or a hotel, but no plans are officially confirmed yet.

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