Tiffin Agricultural Works
Why it's listed
Tiffin Agricultural Works is a three-story brick factory at 40 Harrison Street in Tiffin, Ohio. Smith, Barnes, and Co. founded the business in 1858 to make agricultural implements and built this plant in 1873. It produced horse rakes, corn shellers, hay tenders, and brick machines. By 1888 it employed 125 men, with an annual product of $175,000. After the firm went into receivership in 1899, Tiffin Wagon Works took over and made farm wagons, dump wagons, street sprinklers, and later motorized vehicles including buses and trucks. A Tiffin Truck built in 1915 is displayed at the Seneca County Museum. The wagon company closed in the early 1930s, and other firms, notably the Floom-Fleck wholesale grocery from 1927 to 1970, used the space. The H-shaped building has stretcher bond brick walls, brick pilasters, a gable roof, and arched windows, many now bricked up. Its open interior suits warehouse use.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the building as an example of Tiffin's agricultural-based industry of the 1800s. Smith, Barnes, and Co. built it for making farm implements, and later it housed the Tiffin Wagon Works, which produced wagons and motorized vehicles. Its large open interiors then suited it to warehouse use.
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 80003227, listed January 7, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 40 Harrison St., Tiffin |
|---|---|
| County | Seneca County |
| Listed | January 7, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80003227 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used for warehousing; many windows are bricked up, aluminum siding covers part of the north side, and no original equipment is known to remain. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.12035, -83.17529 (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 80003227.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.