Palm Harbor in Pinellas County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Thos. W. Hartley's Cypress Ladder Factory

1914-1945

Photographed by Joy Katzen-Guthrie

1. Thos. W. Hartley's Cypress Ladder Factory Marker

Inscription. Situated next to his home, in a simple open-air pole barn, Thomas Hartley operated a ladder factory. With the help of 2 or 3 workers Hartley produced between 400-1200 ladders per year. Hartley manufactured ladders for use throughout Florida, as well as destinations including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and South Africa. Initially made solely by hand, workers later used a kerosene engine, with an overhead belt system, to drive a rip saw, planer, table saw, drill press, and lathe. Hartley ladders possessed a signature design, wide and angled at the base, to aid stability in the sugar sand of groves, narrower at the top, to lessen total weight and to increase strength due to angle of rung insertion. Most ladders were about 20 feet; some special orders exceeded 40 feet in height. Crews selected cypress trees from local swamps for the ladder sides. They crafted the ladder rungs from heart of pine. Harvested wood stacked in a cleared section of the property was moved into the factory to be skinned and prepared. Young men Mr. Hartley employed received income to augment livelihoods during the difficult years of the Great Depression. Thomas

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ran the factory until he was 78 years old.

Erected 2022 by Palm Harbor Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1914.

Location. 28° 2.959′ N, 82° 44.874′ W. Marker is in Palm Harbor, Florida, in Pinellas County. It can be reached from the intersection of Curlew Road (Florida Route 586) and Belcher Road, on the right when traveling west. Marker can be found near the wind phone at the Palm Harbor Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2043 Curlew Road, Palm Harbor FL 34683, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Florida’s Gulf Coast

and on Tampa Bay.

It is also in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At

Photographed by Terry Fortner, 2022

2. Thos. W. Hartley's Cypress Ladder Factory Marker

least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Wind Phone (a few steps from this marker); Sacred Ground (a few steps from this marker); Mr. Hartley's Mules/Dunedin Temple Mound (a few steps from this marker); The Whitehurst Well Relic of Pioneer Times (a few steps from this marker); Ethnobotany (within shouting distance of this marker); Grove House (within shouting distance of this marker); In Praise of Dogfennel (within shouting distance of this marker); Heritage Roses (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Palm Harbor.

Also see . . . Palm Harbor Museum. (Submitted on July 25, 2024.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 26, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 25, 2024, by Quinton Spiaggi of Palm Harbor, Florida. This page has been viewed 296 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 26, 2024, by Quinton Spiaggi of Palm Harbor, Florida. 2. submitted on July 25, 2024, by Quinton Spiaggi of Palm Harbor, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.