Thomas Owen settled in what is now Bessemer, Jefferson County, in 1833 and established a small farm, erecting a two-room home that he later expanded to two stories. Owen became a successful merchant and small-scale industrialist and served on the Jefferson County Commission in his later years. The home was donated by descendants of Owens' family in the 1970s to the West Jefferson County Historical Society and is now part of the West Jefferson County Pioneer Homes historic site.
Thomas Owen
Photo courtesy of the Birmingham Public Library Archives