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Throwback Thursday: The B.F. Harris Harness Shop
By Eric D. Tudor
In the early days of Commercial Street, some buildings were designed to serve two worlds at once—with one side opening to the street and the other to the Frisco Railroad. It was a practical solution for a time when folks traveled by train, wagon, and eventually, automobile.
One of the best examples of that style was the B.F. Harris Harness Shop at 116 West Commercial. If that address sounds familiar, it’s because it’s now the home of Jude’s Café. But back in 1888, it was the start of something much different—an equine supply business so respected that locals called any harness, no matter who made it, a “Harris Harness.”
Benjamin F. Harris was born in England and came to the United States with his family in 1870. By 1880, he was working for A.B. Robinson’s harness and saddlery shop in Lebanon. After a brief move to Urbana—where he met and married Hattie Joslin—Harris returned to Lebanon and likely bought out Robinson’s business. He brought his brother-in-law, W.G. Joslin, in as a partner for a while, but eventually purchased full ownership himself.
Harris was more than a businessman. He was a craftsman of the highest quality, using the finest leather and materials to make saddles, bridles, blankets, and harnesses. In 1913, he even served on the Lebanon Board of Education, earning a reputation as a civic-minded and respected member of the community.
He ran the B.F. Harris Harness Shop until his death in 1919, just as the world was changing. By then, the clatter of hooves on Commercial Street was being slowly replaced by the rumble of automobiles.
Maybe Harris passed from age or illness—or maybe it was the heartbreak of watching the world he built start to fade. Either way, for decades after his passing, the name Harris still stood for craftsmanship, care, and the era when horses ruled the road in downtown Lebanon.
