A Walk Through Time: Burton Manufacturing

Burton Manufacturing was established in 1907 by T.C. Burton. In its early days, the company manufactured leather horse collars and harnesses, but later became well known for producing superior quality golf bags.By the 1950s, the company was manufacturing approximately 15,000 bags per year in 50 different styles.For years, Burton Manufacturing’s headquarters was in the Burton Building, located on the square in downtown Jasper. It employed around fifty people and was operated by J.R. Burton. His son, J.R. Burton, Jr. was the general manager.Jimmy Cannon worked for the company 35 years. “I worked my way up to President of Burton Manufacturing,” he says. “We made bags for Reagan and Gorbachev, prior to the summit in the mid-1980s. At one point 81% of the bags used on the PGA tour were made by Burton Manufacturing.”Today the building is still known as the Burton Building, and houses several local businesses, including Los Reyes Grill.Although the Jasper plant closed in 1995, vintage Burton golf bags are still available for purchase on Ebay. 78