Join the Wake Forest Historical Association for a panel discussion exploring how community leaders attracted new industries to the town in the 1960s and 1970s on Sunday, March 15, 2020 at 3 p.m.at the Wake Forest Historical Museum.
In the 1960s town leaders created the Industrial Development Corporation to encourage corporations to create new jobs in Wake Forest in the wake of Wake Forest College’s relocation to Winston-Salem.
In 1964, the New York Company Scovill Schrader Fluid Power Products opened a plant in Wake Forest that promised more than 300 new jobs. The following year, Athey Products Corporation, a manufacturer of earth-moving equipment and later street sweepers, opened a plant and executive offices that employed around 250 people. In 1971, another large corporation, Formex (also called Weavex), a division of Huyck Corporation and manufacturer of paper maker felts, announced that it would build a plant between Wake Forest and Raleigh. As new industries came to Wake Forest and the town expanded, community leaders faced new challenges and responsibilities.
Join our expert panel as we consider the significance of this period in Wake Forest history and consider how the Industrial Development Corporation, Schrader, Athey, and Huyck-Formex shaped Wake Forest’s future. The museum will also have a new exhibit of recently acquired artifacts that provide a glimpse of what it was like to work at Athey.
This program is free and open to the public. Learn more about the first “After the Move” program.
The Wake Forest Historical Museum is interested in conducting interviews with Wake Forest residents who worked at Schrader, Athey, or Huyck-Formex. If you or someone you know would like to be considered for an interview or if you have items you would like the museum to consider for donation, please email Sarah Soleim at soleims@wfu.edu.
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