Olean Lumber

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Olean Lumber & Supply Corp.
Logo 1938 - 2003
Logo 1938 - 2003
Type Privately owned
Founded August 17, 1928 (Olean, New York)
Headquarters Olean, New York
Key people Jeffrey McMullen, President
Industry Retail (Home Improvement)
Products Home improvement products such as appliances, tools, hardware, lumber and garden supplies & plants.
Revenue $4 million USD (2003)
Employees 20
Slogan Your Hometown Home Source.

The Olean Lumber and Supply Corporation, successor of Olean Lumber Co, Inc., was established August 17, 1928 [1] and is Olean, New York's oldest lumber retailer.

Contents

[edit] History

The business occupies the former site of the Chamberlain Mfg. Company of the late-1800s; the Fobes Lumber Company and the Troy Lumber Co., which was one of Olean's leading industries before its property was destroyed in a fire in 1909. After the Troy Lumber Company ceased business, W.H. McKay and A.B. McKane purchased the site and created the original Olean Lumber Company. However, some sources, such as the "History of the Counties..." book by J.H. Beers, point to the Olean Lumber company being founded in 1854, in stark contrast to a 1954 article in the Olean Times Herald chronicling the fact that McKay and McKane created the company after Troy Lumber was destroyed in 1909.

In 1921, Alexander J. McMullen came to Olean from Pennsylvania and accepted the position as office manager of the company. According to family sources, he was previously employed in the master mechanic's office of the Pennsylvania Railroad. When Mr. McMullen purchased the company from McKay and McKane in 1928, it was named "Olean Lumber and Supply Corporation." He became president and general manager. Howard Mitchell was named vice president, secretary and shop foreman (Olean Times Herald article 8/17/1935, reprinted 1954).

Upon A.J. McMullen's passing in 1962, his son, Richard McMullen would become company president. It was at this time that he would introduce the Cash and Carry concept.

Richard McMullen, company executive 1947-1978
Richard McMullen, company executive 1947-1978

Richard McMullen would pass away on July 26, 1978, from arteriosclerosis causing a stroke. ("The Olean Root Book," 1993). This left George E. Baker as president. Mr. McMullen's son, Jeffrey McMullen, was named Vice President. George F. Mayer was secretary and Roy S. Crandall was Treasurer. The company opened Green Street Custom Kitchen and Bath Center in 1985, according to the NYS Department of State.

In 1988, Jeffrey McMullen was named president.

According to the New York Department of State, the company was purchased by Kelly Chaffee in March 2005 and is undergoing renewal.

[edit] Presidents

[edit] External Sources

New York State Department of State (NYS DOS) and Divisions of Corporations Public Entity File(s), Olean Times Herald advertisements (OTH adv.) 1935-2003, public company memorandums (1985, 1988), Olean NY 'Root Book' (1993) sec. 96, p. 226, Rootsweb.com Incorporated, general history courtesy: Olean Lumber website (http://www.geocities.com/oleanlumber), "From the History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron, and Potter, Pennsylvania" by J.H. Beers, (Chicago, 1890) at http://happeningsinthehills.com/mckean/history/otto.htm and so forth are responsible for specific dates and information detailed within the article.

[edit] References

  1. ^ New York State Division of Corporations. Retrieved on 08-01-2006.

[edit] Further reading