The Woodard manufacturing story stretches across generations of Owosso business history, from woodworking and caskets to nationally distributed outdoor furniture.[1]
Early woodworking business
A planing mill was established by the White brothers on what later became the site of Owosso City Hall in 1856. The Woodard brothers purchased the mill about ten years later. Lyman E. Woodard developed furniture manufacturing and began producing caskets in the early 1880s.[1]
Manufacturing expansion
A dedicated casket plant opened on South Elm Street in the 1880s. The company rebuilt after damaging events, including the 1911 storm that struck Owosso. In the twentieth century, subsequent generations of the family developed metal furniture that became associated with the Woodard name.[1]
Later facilities
The Shiawassee District Library's history records that Woodard Furniture moved production from the South Elm Street site to a factory on South Delaney Road in Owosso Township in 1995.[1]
Related history
See also the 1911 Owosso tornado, which damaged local industrial property.[1]
Employment recorded in the 2023 housing assessment
The Shiawassee County Housing Market Assessment, prepared by Real Property Research Group for the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership, lists Woodard with employment of 100-200 in Table 9 on printed page 30. The table credits SEDP for its employer information. This is a historical figure reported in the 2023 study, which does not specify a separate employment census date, full-time-equivalent measure or allocation among worksites.[2]
References
- 1. Woodard Furniture (Lee L. Woodard and Sons, by Helen Harrelson) ↗. Shiawassee District Library. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- 2. Shiawassee County Housing Market Assessment (effective September 15, 2023). Real Property Research Group, Inc., prepared for Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership. Accessed October 30, 2026.