GRAND RAPIDS - FURNITURE CITY

As New Englanders and New Yorkers turned their forests into fields in the early 19th century, a new migration of pioneers headed to Michigan and points west. Grand Rapids, in west central Michigan, was the perfect setting for industrial development, in particular furniture-making -- surrounded by hardwood forests to provide the wood, the Grand River rapids to create power, and a growing regional market. Immigrant craftsmen from Holland, Germany and Italy added their skills as expert carvers and painters. They also provided unskilled labor for the more mechanized processes used in the many factories. It was in Grand Rapids that the Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company was founded – capturing 85% of the market in the days before the vacuum cleaner -- and was headed and greatly expanded by the widow of the original founder. In 1876, the American centennial was celebrated by a World’s Fair in Philadelphia – a show place for the accomplishments of the nation. Here, Grand Rapids chairs, tables, bedsteads, and more were displayed and won awards. Soon after, Grand Rapids became known as Furniture City making every kind of furniture -- from desks and chairs for American public schools to carved sofas to night tables and parlor suites -- for a growing American population. Until 1967, this small city hosted an annual Furniture Market where thousands of salesmen came to see samples and to purchase for what had become a worldwide market. To learn more, you could consult Grand Rapids Furniture: The Story of America’s Furniture City by Christian Carron or visit the Public Museum of Grand Rapids.