Harley-Davidson’s 1903 founding workshop is commonly known as “the shed.”
The small wooden structure stood behind the Davidson family home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. William S. Harley and the Davidson brothers used it while developing and assembling early motorcycles. A famous photograph of the structure includes the words “Harley-Davidson Motor Company” painted on its door, helping turn the humble building into a lasting symbol of the company’s beginnings.
The shed was not the company’s later production factory. Harley-Davidson moved into a purpose-built factory in 1906, and the business was formally incorporated in 1907. Those later milestones are sometimes blended together with the 1903 workshop story.
The original shed was eventually moved from Milwaukee and preserved as a historical artifact. Its importance is symbolic as much as practical: it represents the small-scale experimentation that preceded Harley-Davidson’s growth into a major motorcycle manufacturer.