The H.L. Judd Company started operations in Chattanooga on a small scale about, or a little before, 1890. They were engaged in the production of drapery poles, hence the name “Curtain Pole Factory.”
They also manufactured other turned wood products such as, flagpoles, towel bars, and lamp bases. By the turn of the century the company had grown substantially and employed about a hundred workers.
On Oct. 5, 1910 the plant was destroyed by fire. The loss was estimated at $200,000. At that time it was reported that more than 200 were employed. It was rebuilt bigger and with more production.
To meet the needs of its many employees small tenant houses were built. A school was conducted in one end of a long building that housed a family. A church was started across the street from the plant property and called Sherman Hill Baptist Church, so named because it was the landing and encampment place of General Sherman after crossing the Tennessee River, setting the stage for the Battle of Chattanooga.
My maternal grandfather, William M. Delzell, and his brother, Joe, started the church and pastored it for many years. There was also a store within a few hundred feet of the church known as Ford’s Grocery.
I would like to see the history of this community preserved for future generations, especially for those who are descendants of those families who lived in the company houses and worked there. I have a partial list of those family names. There were many others who worked at the factory but did not live in factory houses.
If you have a connection to or knowledge any of these families, please contact me at my e-mail address bgdenham@hotmail.com
H.L. Judd (Curtain Pole) Factory Family Names
MACON CROWE OLLIE FAIN
JIM BRUMLOW JOE PARKS SR.
BILL BANKSTON WALT DRIGGINS
C.C. GUFFEY GEORGE QUARLES
WILLIAM M. DELZELL ARTHUR T. DENHAM
GRADY DODD ELECK MELTON
TOM DAVIS MACK EVANS
MOLLY DAVIS LUTHER BELVIN
LUM LEWIS W. L. THOMAS
EATHER BELVIN BILL COLSTON
MELTON DODD LUTHER BENTON
BILL BRANNON GEORGE W. DENHAM
JOE DELZELL
Rev. Billy Denham can be reached at bgdenham@hotmail.com