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| HISTORY
OF NORTH CAROLINA FURNITURE |
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North Carolina is truly "The Furniture Capital of the World". But it has
only held this distinction for the last 90 years. New York, Chicago and
Grand Rapids were the dominant cities at the turn of the century. As
late as the 1890’s, North Carolina’s furniture production had barely
started. In the 1890 census only 6 furniture plants were counted in the
state. These half dozen factories located in Goldsboro, Charlotte,
Mebane, Ramseur, Lenoir and Asheville employed a scant 182 men. From
this inauspicious beginning, North Carolina has grown to dominate the
furniture industry.
The northern furniture manufacturing centers lost their dominance as
the 19th century ended. The 28 furniture plants of Boston in 1875 had
dwindled to 6 by 1900. The vast hardwood forests of central and western
North Carolina were logical areas for the furniture industry to
prosper. High Point was an early center of this southern growth; and,
in the first years of the new century, furniture companies were opening
almost every month in High Point.
Competition between these new companies was fierce, mainly due to the
lack of an industry-wide marketing system. Furniture was one of the few
items that salesmen could not take from town to town to sell. The
product was too big! Furniture store owners were forced to come to the
factories and visit each plant to make their selections. The
inefficiency of showing a furniture line to one dealer at a time was
finally solved with the market-exposition idea.
The first furniture exposition was held in New York and later in
Chicago. North Carolina manufacturers attended some of these events but
eventually decided that a southern exposition would better serve the
North Carolina furniture factories. The first North Carolina furniture
exposition was held in High Point in 1905. These “markets”
were then
held sporadically until 1921 when a permanent building was built. The
1920’s also saw dramatic progress in western North Carolina’s
furniture
industry.
The end of World War II brought the greatest demand for furniture that
the country had ever experienced. Home building increased by 300% and
new furniture was needed throughout the nation. This fantastic demand
for furniture was primarily answered by the North Carolina
manufacturers.
Today, the High Point area is the prime location in the United States
to buy famous name brand furniture at substantial savings.
