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WILLIAM M. NISSEN. The story of one of North Carolina’s oldest manufacturing industries might be woven about the
name Nissen. It is a name that signifies character. For eighty years or more many thousands of Nissen wagons have been
in service, and the buyers of these vehicles have long since taken it for granted that not only the best of material entered
into their construction, but also that the highest quality of skill and the other qualities which stand for stability and reliability
are represented in their timbers. The present proprietor of the Nissen Wagon Works at Winston-Salem is William M. Nissen,
a son of the founder of the business.
The name is also one that belongs to the colonial annals of North Carolina. The founder of the family in this state was Rev.
Tyco Nissen, who was born in Holstein, Denmark, March 14, 1732. He was the great-grandfather of William M. Nissen. He
came to America when the Atlantic colonies still gave allegiance to Great Britain, in 1770. Some time later he arrived in
North Carolina and settled near Salem, where he bought a tract of land and developed it as a farm or plantation. According
to the records found in Clewell's "History of North Carolina," the cornerstone of a church was laid in 1772 at Friedland and
the house was consecrated February 18, 1775, and Rev. Tyco Nissen was introduced as the first minister. He continued
active in the ministry there until 1780. His death occurred in Salem February 20, 1798. His remains now repose in the
Moravian graveyard in Salem. He married Salome Meuer, who was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1750, and
died at Salem May 4, 1821. Her father, Philip Meuer, was born in Alsace March 25, 1708, and died in Bethlehem April 15,
1759.
Christian Nissen, a son of Rev. Tyco Nissen, was born in Forsyth County, North Carolina, grew up on a farm and
followed farming as his active vocation. He remained a resident of his native county until his death. He reared three
daughters and two sons, named Betsy, Lucinda, Sally, John Philip and Israel.
John Philip Nissen was the founder of the Nissen wagon industry at Winston-Salem. He was born on a farm in Broad
Bay Township of Forsyth County in 1813. A genius for mechanics was apparently an inheritance. Before he had reached
his majority, while living on the farm and with only such tools as were usually found about a farm in the early half of the last
century, he built a wagon complete from tongue to endgate. It was a wagon that saw many years of hard service. It was his
first masterpiece and attracted much admiration and naturally excited a demand for others like it.
In 1834, John P. Nissen bought a lot in Waughtown. Erecting. a log building, he made that his pioneer wagon shop.
With an equipment of hand tools, and supplying all the labor himself, he began making wagons for sale. There was a
customer for every wagon before it was finished. The custom came from the immediate locality, but the fame of the Nissen
wagons steadily grew, and every year the output went to markets more and more distant from the place of manufacture.
The log building was replaced by a frame structure, and power machinery was installed. This frame factory was converted
into a government workshop during the war between the states and the Nissen wagons were made in great numbers for the
Confederate army. John Philip Nissen had an almost unerring judgment as to materials, and practically until the close of his
life took the greatest of pains and gave his personal supervision to nearly every detail of manufacture. It was on the firm
foundation of his individual integrity and character that the fame of the Nissen wagons became widespread. He continued
actively engaged in the business which he had founded until his death in 1874.
John P. Nissen married Mary Vawter. She was born in Virginia, and came with her father, Bradford Vawter, from that
state to a home a few miles south of Salem. Bradford Vawter bought a farm there and lived on it until his death. Mrs. John
Philip Nissen died in 1884. She reared a family of ten children named Jane, George E., John, Betty, Reuben, Frank,
Hattie, Alice, William M. and Samuel.
William M. Nissen was born at Waughtown, which is now a rural station of the Winston-Salem post office, and has
spent his life practically in that one locality. He attended the Boys’ School at Salem and than became a youthful apprentice
in his father's factory. He studied all the details of manufacturing and knows the business thoroughly from the workshop to
the counting room. After he became of age, he and his brother George E. succeeded their father in business and
conducted the factory along the same lines which had been emphasized by their honored father. In 1909, William Nissen
bought the interest of his brother, and has since been sole proprietor. As already noted, the business was begun in a log
house, that was succeeded by a frame building, and in recent years a large brick factory has been erected, containing all
the modern appliances and machinery for turning out finished wagons, and where his father eighty years ago would spend
many days on one wagon, the factory now has an output of many vehicles each day. At times upwards of 200 men have
been employed in the plant, and it is not only one of the oldest manufacturing establishments under one continuous family
ownership in the state, but also one of the most prosperous and one of the chief assets of the industrial life of Winston-
Salem.
In 1898 Mr. Nissen married Ida W. Wray. She was born at Reidsville, North Carolina, a daughter of Richard and Lucy
(Burton) Wray. Mr. and Mrs. Nissen have two children, George W. and Richard.
(Source: History of North Carolina Vol. IV pp 60-61)
name Nissen. It is a name that signifies character. For eighty years or more many thousands of Nissen wagons have been
in service, and the buyers of these vehicles have long since taken it for granted that not only the best of material entered
into their construction, but also that the highest quality of skill and the other qualities which stand for stability and reliability
are represented in their timbers. The present proprietor of the Nissen Wagon Works at Winston-Salem is William M. Nissen,
a son of the founder of the business.
The name is also one that belongs to the colonial annals of North Carolina. The founder of the family in this state was Rev.
Tyco Nissen, who was born in Holstein, Denmark, March 14, 1732. He was the great-grandfather of William M. Nissen. He
came to America when the Atlantic colonies still gave allegiance to Great Britain, in 1770. Some time later he arrived in
North Carolina and settled near Salem, where he bought a tract of land and developed it as a farm or plantation. According
to the records found in Clewell's "History of North Carolina," the cornerstone of a church was laid in 1772 at Friedland and
the house was consecrated February 18, 1775, and Rev. Tyco Nissen was introduced as the first minister. He continued
active in the ministry there until 1780. His death occurred in Salem February 20, 1798. His remains now repose in the
Moravian graveyard in Salem. He married Salome Meuer, who was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1750, and
died at Salem May 4, 1821. Her father, Philip Meuer, was born in Alsace March 25, 1708, and died in Bethlehem April 15,
1759.
Christian Nissen, a son of Rev. Tyco Nissen, was born in Forsyth County, North Carolina, grew up on a farm and
followed farming as his active vocation. He remained a resident of his native county until his death. He reared three
daughters and two sons, named Betsy, Lucinda, Sally, John Philip and Israel.
John Philip Nissen was the founder of the Nissen wagon industry at Winston-Salem. He was born on a farm in Broad
Bay Township of Forsyth County in 1813. A genius for mechanics was apparently an inheritance. Before he had reached
his majority, while living on the farm and with only such tools as were usually found about a farm in the early half of the last
century, he built a wagon complete from tongue to endgate. It was a wagon that saw many years of hard service. It was his
first masterpiece and attracted much admiration and naturally excited a demand for others like it.
In 1834, John P. Nissen bought a lot in Waughtown. Erecting. a log building, he made that his pioneer wagon shop.
With an equipment of hand tools, and supplying all the labor himself, he began making wagons for sale. There was a
customer for every wagon before it was finished. The custom came from the immediate locality, but the fame of the Nissen
wagons steadily grew, and every year the output went to markets more and more distant from the place of manufacture.
The log building was replaced by a frame structure, and power machinery was installed. This frame factory was converted
into a government workshop during the war between the states and the Nissen wagons were made in great numbers for the
Confederate army. John Philip Nissen had an almost unerring judgment as to materials, and practically until the close of his
life took the greatest of pains and gave his personal supervision to nearly every detail of manufacture. It was on the firm
foundation of his individual integrity and character that the fame of the Nissen wagons became widespread. He continued
actively engaged in the business which he had founded until his death in 1874.
John P. Nissen married Mary Vawter. She was born in Virginia, and came with her father, Bradford Vawter, from that
state to a home a few miles south of Salem. Bradford Vawter bought a farm there and lived on it until his death. Mrs. John
Philip Nissen died in 1884. She reared a family of ten children named Jane, George E., John, Betty, Reuben, Frank,
Hattie, Alice, William M. and Samuel.
William M. Nissen was born at Waughtown, which is now a rural station of the Winston-Salem post office, and has
spent his life practically in that one locality. He attended the Boys’ School at Salem and than became a youthful apprentice
in his father's factory. He studied all the details of manufacturing and knows the business thoroughly from the workshop to
the counting room. After he became of age, he and his brother George E. succeeded their father in business and
conducted the factory along the same lines which had been emphasized by their honored father. In 1909, William Nissen
bought the interest of his brother, and has since been sole proprietor. As already noted, the business was begun in a log
house, that was succeeded by a frame building, and in recent years a large brick factory has been erected, containing all
the modern appliances and machinery for turning out finished wagons, and where his father eighty years ago would spend
many days on one wagon, the factory now has an output of many vehicles each day. At times upwards of 200 men have
been employed in the plant, and it is not only one of the oldest manufacturing establishments under one continuous family
ownership in the state, but also one of the most prosperous and one of the chief assets of the industrial life of Winston-
Salem.
In 1898 Mr. Nissen married Ida W. Wray. She was born at Reidsville, North Carolina, a daughter of Richard and Lucy
(Burton) Wray. Mr. and Mrs. Nissen have two children, George W. and Richard.
(Source: History of North Carolina Vol. IV pp 60-61)
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