ARLINGTON, Texas – In the heart of central Arlington lies a family-owned floral shop which holds history dating back to 1893.
Located at 512 W. Division St., H.E. Cannon Floral Co. Inc. is filled with the many vases, flowers and stuffed animals that owner Patricia Flynt has in stock for the orders which come in during the week.
Flynt is a font of knowledge that extends to the shop’s beginnings in 1893, and she is more than happy to share.
H.E. Cannon’s Vision
H.E. Cannon started in 1893 in East Texas with several properties across multiple cities. Primarily working with nursery stock and flowers, Cannon continued working in the east until 1921. That’s when he drove on Bankhead Highway, which is now known as Division Street, and found an area of land about five acres in size.
Flynt said Cannon knew he could make good use of the land, saying, “That would make a great place for a flower shop.” After contacting the owners, he would later end up buying the land.
Cannon built a large wooden building which became the first shop. The original building was not in Arlington originally, but it became surrounded by the city as time went on.
First Tragedy Strikes
Flynt said she was told that decades after the first building was built, it faced its first tragedy with a fire. After this fire, another building was built, much more modernized compared to the original building, in the early ’70s.
With a larger and newer building, H.E. Cannon’s had a higher visibility for Arlington residents driving on Highway 80. That elevated visibility has helped the business have staying power.
“Other florists have come here and left, but we’ve stayed strong and stayed here through the years,” Flynt said.
The Tragedy before Valentine’s Day
In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, another fire struck H.E. Cannon as employees were completing orders. After the fire struck, employees moved any equipment they could salvage into the greenhouses H.E. Cannon had in the back of the building to continue working on orders.
After the fire, many letters of support and comments were made from customers who had bought flowers over the years, showing they were keeping faith in H.E. Cannon during a tough time.
“I looked out from the front window and saw this one lady standing out on the sidewalk looking in and crying,” Flynt said. “She had been a customer for several years and was heartbroken.”
Flynt mentioned the good that came out of such a tragedy as many people such as past employees and family friends came to help in any way they could. More people heard about H.E. Cannon as media outlets covered the story of the floral shop that burned down three days before Valentine’s Day.
H.E. Cannon Floral today
The company continued to grow through the years, and ownership has now landed on the mother-daughter duo of Patricia Flynt and Jacquelyn Flynt. As they continue to provide casket pieces, sympathy pieces, wedding pieces and flowers for the guy passing by wanting to get his girlfriend something to surprise her with.
They continue to provide flowers across the DFW area, and by using Teleflora, it allows them to send flowers to just about any place in the world.
“To our customers we are so grateful, and to our people who we deal with through business we are blessed, and we are just happy to be here and serve the public of Arlington, Texas,” Flynt said.
