Bona Allen Shoe and Horse Collar Factory
Why it's listed
Three brick buildings at the west end of downtown Buford, Georgia, make up the former Bona Allen shoe and horse collar factory. The two-story horse collar factory and the one-story office date to about 1905, and the three-story shoe factory was added in 1919. Their slow-burn construction used thick masonry walls, large windows, open floors and heavy timber posts. Bona Allen's company became one of the world's largest horse collar makers by 1920, and leather goods drove Buford's economy from the 1870s until World War II. The Allen family owned a tannery, a saddle and harness factory and this factory, and the workforce reached 2,200 in 1932. The factory closed in 1945 after briefly repairing military shoes for the Army. After decades of other industrial uses and a vacancy from about 1990, the complex was rehabilitated into an antiques market, with a new pavilion and two 1960s warehouses counted as noncontributing additions.
Significance in brief: It represents Georgia's leather goods industry during the New South era, when leather production was Buford's leading industry from the 1870s to the end of World War II. The buildings also exemplify slow-burn industrial construction typical of Georgia and the South in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 04001138, listed January 3, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 554 W. Main St., Buford |
|---|---|
| County | Gwinnett County |
| Listed | January 3, 2005 |
| Reference number | 04001138 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c.1905-1945 |
| Architectural style | Other: early 20th-century industrial building |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rehabilitated and reopened in January 2002 as the Historic Buford Antiques Market, after standing vacant from c.1990 until rehabilitation began in 1997. |
| Acreage | 6 |
| Coordinates | 34.11415, -84.01179 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 04001138.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q85748157
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.