he Redlands Carriage Works, under the proprietorship of Albert Willows, is establishing a growing and important business in Redlands. Mr. Willows was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1851; was reared in that country, and taught a trade as a shipsmith. His first important business experience was as foreman of a shipyard in Grimsby. He was married in England to Elizabeth Cliff, by whom he has had two children, Albert A. and Gertrude, the latter at present a student in the Redlands High School. Late in the year 1878 Mr. Willows left England with his family and went to New Zealand, where he arrived in January, 1879.

Mr. Willows remained in New Zealand eleven years, during most of which time he was engaged in his trade of shipbuilding, and repairing and fitting out vessels. At the end of the eleven years he had one of the largest ship shops in Auckland. As the owner of this he did a great deal of work for the large men-of-war belonging to the British navy, which were brought to Auckland for repairs and refitting. He helped to build the third largest drydock in the world, that at Auckland, having a contract for the ironwork necessary to finish and equip it. When it was completed and opened for the first time three men-of-war were placed in it, one behind the other.

Later Mr. Willows went to the Sandwich Islands, and lived at Honolulu about a year, employed in attending to the machinery on a large sugar plantation, and also working in Honolulu. From Honolulu he went to San Francisco, where he also lived about a year, working at his trade, and from San Francisco he came to Redlands. His first employment in this city was in John McIntosh's blacksmith and wagon-making establishment. Afterward he went into business for himself, in a building fronting on the alleyway south of Citrus avenue, and near Orange Street. Later he moved to his present location on Water street and opened the Redlands Carriage Works.

The building now occupied by Mr. Willows has had something of a history in Redlands. Part of it was used as Dunlap's saloon in earlier days, and another part was occupied as a restaurant. One of these portions was afterward used as a station for the hose and other apparatus of the Redlands Fire Department.

The Redlands Carriage Works, besides doing a great deal of general blacksmithing, repairing and similar work, deals largely in materials for blacksmiths and carriage builders. It carries a very heavy stock in this line, and supplies many customers in neighboring communities. Mr. Willows carries the best line of goods in each department, and sells them delivered in Redlands at Los Angeles prices. He buys direct from the East, and can afford to do business on a reasonable margin.

This house makes wagons, buggies, surries, carriages and vehicles of all descriptions to order, and has done a great deal of custom work in the past few years, having built surries and other carriages for some of the leading citizens of Redlands. It makes a specialty of putting up surries in bird's-eye maple, red cherry and other natural-wood finishes. Some of this work has been greatly admired for its beauty and novelty as well as for its compactness, strength and lightness of draught as compared with weight. This is a business which is certain to grow with the continued growth of Redlands, and Mr. Willows has an eye to the future in the reputation that he is establishing for first-class work in these particulars.

(Source: Illustrated Redlands, 1897, p. 86)