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For Over 150 Years
The Woodard Furniture History
1860's
1866-67
Lyman E. Woodward purchases a lumber-planing mill in the boomtown of Owosso, Michigan. He and his three brothers create Woodard Brothers, a company that manufactures wood furniture, window and door sashes, blinds and pine-box caskets.
1880's
1880
The thriving business has annual sales of $20,000 to $25,000. The company employs 30 men.
1882-1885
The brothers create a second business, the Owosso Casket Company. They build a new factory to produce metal, hardwood and cloth-covered caskets.
1888
The three-year-old casket factory burns to the ground. Undeterred, the brothers quickly rebuild.
1890's
1890
Lyman buys out his brothers’ shares in Woodard Brothers and the Owosso Casket Company.
1890-1900
Lyman’s three sons and son-in-law join the businesses.
1898
Another devastating fire razes the planing mill and furniture factory, a huge setback for the company.
1900's
1901
The Owosso Casket Company incorporates. Two U. S. presidents, William McKinley and Benjamin Harrison, are buried in Owosso caskets.
Photographer: Undetermined. Source: Buffalo Times, September 22, 1901.
Photographer: Undetermined. Source: Buffalo Times, September 22, 1901.
1902
Woodard Brothers opens a new planing mill and two new factories near the Owosso railway yard, to make shipping convenient.
1904
Founder Lyman Woodard dies. His three sons and son-in-law take over the family businesses.
1910's
1911
A cyclone, resulting from a severe cold snap, hits the Woodard factories, causing severe damage.
1912
The Woodard’s repair damage from the storm and make additions to the factory, which now covers two city blocks.
Fred Woodard and Lee L. Woodard
Fred Woodard and Lee L. Woodard
1918–1919
The Spanish Flu spreads around the world. Approximately 675,000 Americans die from the pandemic and the Owosso Casket Company produces 150 caskets a day to meet the demand.
1920's
1920
Owosso Casket Company becomes the largest casket-maker in the world.
1930's
1934
The Great Depression and the depletion of Michigan hardwood and pine take their toll. The company switches to making metal outdoor furniture.
1938
The second and third generations of the family, Lee Woodard and his sons, start Woodard and Sons, a company that produces metal furniture using proprietary designs Lee creates. As a designer Lee drew national recognition for his work and he pioneered the idea of using wrought iron in outdoor furniture. It was Lee and Sadie’s three sons, Joseph, Russell and Lyman II, who were responsible for making their furniture lines nationally and then internationally known.
1940's
1938–1942
The Owosso Casket Company and Woodard Furniture Company close.
1940
Woodard and Sons introduces the Orleans collection, its bestselling and longest running design.
1942
The country enters WWII. Woodard and Sons converts their factory to a facility that manufactures component parts for trucks, tanks, and naval and aircraft equipment.
1946
After the war, Woodard and Sons resumes production of outdoor metal furniture.
1950's
1956
Introducing the iconic Sculptura chair, Woodard becomes the first manufacturer to construct a sculpted chair without using expensive molds.
1959
The company builds the Carolina Forge factory for wrought iron in Salisbury, North Carolina, where labor is plentiful.
1960's
1960
Woodard manufactures 100,000 pieces of furniture each year, generating $2.5 million in revenue.
1962
The company introduces the Mayfield collection. First Lady Jackie Kennedy purchases furniture from the collection.
1967
Woodard opens Woodard Crafts, a plant in Maxton, North Carolina, that handles production of extruded aluminum.
1970's
1978
The company launches the Arnold Palmer collection, the first contemporary casual furniture design made of wrought iron.
1980's
1980
Woodard, now the leading manufacturer of wrought iron casual furniture, introduces the Margarita contemporary collection.
1990's
1994
The Sculptura chair is added to the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s permanent collection.
1995
The company’s owners build an updated factory and offices covering 7.5 acres in Owosso. The new facility produces 3,000 pieces of furniture a week—175,000 pieces a year.
2000's
2001-2005
Woodard consolidates its manufacturing facilities, closing its two North Carolina plants and a plant in Ontario, California.
2008
Craftmade of Coppell, Texas purchases Woodard and consolidates its offices into its headquarters and reestablishes Woodard’s presence in the Chicago Merchandise Mart.
2009
Woodard adds "Custom Express," offering a two-week production lead time.
2010's
2011
In December, 2011, Litex, a Texas-based importer of ceiling fans and lighting fixtures acquired Craftmade and its subsidiary, Woodard.
2011
The renowned Jax Collection receives the Design Excellence Award from the National Furniture Manufacturers Association.
2013
Woodard acquires woven outdoor furniture specialist, Whitecaft.
2015
In response to the resurgence of mid-century modern furnishings, Woodard revives the iconic Sculptura collection, available in 30 colors and finishes.
2016
Woodard hosts a yearlong celebration of its 150th anniversary.