Those of a certain age remember the shirt factory on 1st Street.

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – WLAF’s Charlie Hutson shares history and a photo from January 1949 on this Thursday. Pictured above are employees of the La Follette Shirt Company, the big shirt factory. The building still sits along First Street.

The photo was snapped just about 14 years after the building was built in 1935.

During this time, about everyone around these parts either worked at the shirt factory or had a friend or relative that did. In its day, the factory was the largest employer in the area.

In 1965, the shirt factory left downtown and moved to a brand new building (now DeRoyal) on the east end of La Follette near La Follette High School (now middle school). A new venue brought a new name; the Imperial Shirt Corporation, La Follette Division. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 07/29/2021-6AM)