Levi Heywood Memorial Library
Heywood-Wakefield Company (Gardner, MA)
Detail from:
Heywood-Wakefield open house wood tour booklet cover
The Gardner-based Heywood-Wakefield Company was, for many years, the nation's largest furniture manufacturer. The company's origins date to 1826, when five chairmaking brothers in Gardner established Heywood Brothers. In 1851, Cyrus Wakefield established the Wakefield Rattan Company in South Reading, MA (now Wakefield), which became the world's leading manufacturer of rattan furniture and objects in the second half of the 19th century.
Both firms produced wicker and rattan furniture and, amidst fierce competition in the expanding market of the late 19th century, the companies merged in 1897 as Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company, becoming the Heywood-Wakefield Company in 1921. In 1926, at its 100th anniversary, the company operated manufacturing sites in five states and one in Canada and had expanded its production lines to include theater chairs, bus and railway car seats, and school furniture.
Long an economic powerhouse of Gardner (known as Chair City), the company was admired for the quality and design of its increasingly wood-based furniture products. Many well-known and influential designers contributed during the 1930s and 1940s, including Gilbert Rohde, Joseph Carr, Russel Wright, and Alexis de Sakhnoffsky. One of the company's many innovative designs was the deeply comfortable "Sleepy Hollow" lounge chair, perfect for napping and reading, which became a staple of rail passenger seating in the 1940s. The company displayed Its furniture at the 1933 Century of Progress exhibition and at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
The company was also admired for the strong ties forged among employees, some of whom were employed by the company for six decades. From 1936 to 1974, the company published Shop News, a monthly magazine featuring a wide range of company news and the activities of employees and their families.
The company closed operations in 1979, in part due to rising costs and foreign competition. The Heywood-Wakefield Company Complex in Gardner was added to the National Historic Register in 1983. In 1992, with the healthy demand for vintage furniture, the South Beach Furniture Company acquired the rights to the Heywood-Wakefield name and began manufacturing new pieces in the style of vintage Heywood-Wakefield furniture. In 2022, South Beach officially changed its name to Heywood-Wakefield Co., and continues to make furniture in Winchendon, MA.
Both firms produced wicker and rattan furniture and, amidst fierce competition in the expanding market of the late 19th century, the companies merged in 1897 as Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company, becoming the Heywood-Wakefield Company in 1921. In 1926, at its 100th anniversary, the company operated manufacturing sites in five states and one in Canada and had expanded its production lines to include theater chairs, bus and railway car seats, and school furniture.
Long an economic powerhouse of Gardner (known as Chair City), the company was admired for the quality and design of its increasingly wood-based furniture products. Many well-known and influential designers contributed during the 1930s and 1940s, including Gilbert Rohde, Joseph Carr, Russel Wright, and Alexis de Sakhnoffsky. One of the company's many innovative designs was the deeply comfortable "Sleepy Hollow" lounge chair, perfect for napping and reading, which became a staple of rail passenger seating in the 1940s. The company displayed Its furniture at the 1933 Century of Progress exhibition and at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
The company was also admired for the strong ties forged among employees, some of whom were employed by the company for six decades. From 1936 to 1974, the company published Shop News, a monthly magazine featuring a wide range of company news and the activities of employees and their families.
The company closed operations in 1979, in part due to rising costs and foreign competition. The Heywood-Wakefield Company Complex in Gardner was added to the National Historic Register in 1983. In 1992, with the healthy demand for vintage furniture, the South Beach Furniture Company acquired the rights to the Heywood-Wakefield name and began manufacturing new pieces in the style of vintage Heywood-Wakefield furniture. In 2022, South Beach officially changed its name to Heywood-Wakefield Co., and continues to make furniture in Winchendon, MA.