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‘What other company
can say it’s had a contract with the U.S. government since 1879?’
— Lansing Crane, retired sixth-generation CEO of Crane & Co. (#25), in Family Business Magazine, Autumn 2001
18 of the families
on the list operate
funeral homes or
memorial businesses.
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* 11. 1728
Clark Farm
Hobart-Clark family
Agriculture/Danvers, MA
In 1728, not long after the Salem witch trials, Peter Hobart founded a 12-acre sustenance farm for his family. The Hobart family began producing commercially in 1901. The father and grandfather of current owner Bill Hobart-Clark (eighth and ninth generations) trekked to Boston biweekly to sell vegetables and small fruits from their market wagon. Now, owner Bill runs a farm stand and sells produce at a local farmers’ market. His granddaughter lives in the original 1728 farmhouse, and he still has the market wagon used by his father and grandfather to take produce to Boston.
* 12. (tie) 1741
The Howell Farm
Howell family
Agriculture, cattle/Cedarville, NJ
Joseph Sayre of Southampton, Long Island, acquired the original 200 acres. Pelts were an early cash crop; today, the family’s tenth generation still traps muskrats. According to early records, the family produced peaches, flax, hogs, sheep and vegetables. Now, the farm raises cattle and produces salt hay, soybeans and alfalfa.
12. (tie) 1741
Lyman Orchards
Lyman family
Agriculture/Middlefield, CT
www.lymanorchards.com
In 1741, John Lyman purchased 36 acres of land in Middlefield, Conn. Today, the 1,100-acre farm offers food products (cider, apple pies, etc.), events (golf tournaments, fund-raisers) and tours. The founding family is now in its eighth generation of ownership under John Lyman III.
14. 1742
John Whitley Farm
Whitley family
Agriculture/Williamston, NC
The John Whitley Farm is the oldest farm in North Carolina. Family mementos include the original deed with a wax seal of the King of England and a note from Theodore Roosevelt thanking the Whitleys for lending him their binoculars. The Whitley family now extends into its 11th generation.
15. 1750
Parlange Plantation
Parlange family
Agriculture/New Roads, LA
www.pcchamber.org/parlange.htm
Parlange Plantation, a National Historic Landmark, is one of the state’s oldest plantations. Descendants of the first owner, Marquis Vincent de Ternant, still live there. Originally, the family grew indigo and cotton; now, they produce sugarcane and raise cattle. The plantation house is open for tours by appointment. A museum room in the wine cellar displays blacksmith tools, a cotton scale, candle molds, and cypress brick molds. During the Civil War, the plantation hosted generals from both North and South.
16. 1769
Bachman Funeral Home
Bachman family
Funeral services/Strasburg, PA
www.bachmanfuneral.com
Johannes Bachman, a Swiss Mennonite, began as cabinetmaker in Lancaster County, Pa. Later, he transitioned to coffin production and funeral services. His original business ledger (in German), dated April 1769, has been passed to the present funeral director, eighth-generation member John D. Bachman.
17. 1774
Stuart Land Co. of Virginia
Stuart family
Cattle/Rosedale, VA
In 1774, Henry Smith started Clifton Farm. When his great-granddaughter Mary Taylor Carter married William Alexander Stuart, she brought a dowry of 80,000 acres, which Stuart added to his own large land holding. Current proprietor and CEO William Alexander (Zan) Stuart is an eighth-generation family member. He has no children in the business, but his grandchildren may succeed him. The family’s beef cattle operation is still functioning.
18. 1778
St. John Milling Co.
St. John/Dawson family
Milling, farm products/Watauga, TN
Stone mason Jeremiah Dungan built the original foundation for his mill and stone manor (still standing). His children, Jeremiah and Mary D. Hendrix, helped to run the mill. The mill passed to Jeremiah’s daughter Mary and her husband, John Houston (brother of frontier hero Sam Houston). Fifth-generation member George St. John, an electrical engineer, converted the farm’s power source from water to electricity. Today, the mill is owned by George’s daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Ron Dawson (sixth generation). The operation changed from general feed and milling to a feed and seed store. Because of shifting boundaries, the company has paid taxes in three different states: North Carolina, Tennessee and the short-lived “State of Franklin,” and four different governments: Watauga Association, North Carolina, State of Franklin and State of Tennessee.
19. 1780
Laird & Co.
Laird family
Brandy distiller/Scobeyville, NJ
www.lairdandcompany.com
America’s first large-scale distiller produces AppleJack, Apple Brandy, vodka, gin, rum, whiskey, etc. In 1698, the Laird family immigrated to New Jersey from Scotland; in 1717, an ancestor opened Colts Neck Inn. Robert Laird, Revolutionary War soldier, first distilled AppleJack in 1780 to serve at the inn and gave his recipe to George Washington at Washington’s request. In 1812, Robert’s third son, Samuel, took over the inn. The distillery flourished until 1849, when it was destroyed by fire. In 1851, Samuel’s son Robert moved the distillery to its present site in Scobeyville. The company survived Prohibition by producing sweet cider, applesauce and other apple products. Since 1990, the family has imported wines and spirits from Europe, Canada and Grenada. Eighth-generation member Larrie W. Laird, daughter Lisa Laird Dunn and nephew John E. Laird III now head the company.
20. 1783
Juanita M. Joiner Farm/Southern Woodland Co.
Joiner family
Agriculture/Millen, GA
Abraham Shephard founded the nation’s oldest cotton farm and timberland company. The Joiner family farm, on 1,200 acres between Augusta and Savannah, survived Sherman’s march. Through seven generations, the family has produced cotton, soybeans, hay and timber. Robert, an Augusta accountant who moved back home, helps his parents, current owners Juanita and Gary Joiner, both in their 80s. Ancestors include a cousin of one of Henry VIII’s wives, a Colonial governor, a governor of North Carolina and the founder of the Georgia town of Swainsboro. The family’s Civil War-era mansion crumbled years ago.
21. 1785
Bixler’s
Bixler family
Retail jeweler/Easton, PA
www.bixlers.com
In 1785, 22-year-old clockmaker Christian Bixler III, a Revolutionary War vet, founded America’s oldest jeweler and silversmith. He built 465 clocks by 1812 and died in 1840. Today, the company has stores in Easton and Allentown. Bixler’s is now run by the founder’s great-great-great-grandchildren, president Joyce Welken and her brother, Philip Bixler Mitman.
22. 1787
Hayes’ Coffees
Hayes family
Coffee roasters/Oak Park, IL
www.hayescoffee.com
While the British were promoting tea, the Hayes family began roasting coffee in secret. The Hayes family is now in its seventh generation and makes tea as well.
23. 1789
George R. Ruhl & Son Inc.
Ruhl family
Baking supplies/Hanover, MD
www.grruhl.com
In 1789, Conrad Ruhl established George R. Ruhl & Son as a flour and feed mill. The family closed the milling operation in the mid-1800s and began distributing flour to bakers in Baltimore City. The firm survived the Baltimore fire of 1904 by tossing flour barrels into the harbor. In the company office, the Ruhl family still keeps an antique safe c.1850 from the fire. The company transitioned to baking supplies in 1915. Sugar was added to the product line in 1950 and mixes in 1960. In 1972, when sixth-generation member George Ruhl III became owner and president, he began incorporating other categories and expanding to new states.
24. 1798
Alan McIlvain Co.
McIlvain family
Lumber/Marcus Hook, PA
www.alanmcilvain.com
The McIlvain family has operated a hardwood lumberyard in the Philadelphia area since 1798. Sixth-generation members Alan and Gordon McIlvain currently own and operate the company.
19TH CENTURY
25. 1801
Crane & Co.
Crane family
Paper manufacturing/Dalton, MA
www.crane.com
Crane & Co., owned by the seventh-generation Crane family, makes wedding invitations, engraved cards, letterheads, envelopes, business cards, announcements, etc. Together with two partners, Zenas Crane, son of a paper engraver, founded a one-vat paper mill. In 1879, his grandson W. Murray Crane won the contract to make U.S. currency paper. Later, Murray served as governor of Massachusetts. The company pioneered pollution controls and profit sharing. Charles Kittredge, whose ancestors married into the Crane family in the 1800s, is the current CEO. (See “The restoration at Crane & Co.” by Mark Fischetti, Family Business Magazine, Autumn 2006.)
26. (tie) 1802
The Homestead
Hayward family
Hospitality/Sugar Hill, NH
Moses and Sarah Aldrich built a log cabin in New Hampshire and thus became the first settlers of Sugar Hill. The original inn was a farmhouse constructed in 1802. In 1898, the family expanded the farmhouse to its present size. The inn has been passed down through seven generations and still exemplifies early American innkeeping. The founders’ family heirlooms (glass, china, silver, brass, copper, etc.) are still used by guests.
26. (tie) 1802
Rogers Funeral Home
Rogers family
Funeral services/Frankfort, KY
Founded in 1802, Rogers Funeral Home is owned and operated by the sixth generation of the Rogers family.
* 28. 1805
Samuel T. Freeman & Co.
Freeman family
Auction house/Philadelphia, PA
www.freemansauction.com
In 1805, Tristram Bamfylde Freeman founded the Philadelphia auction house as T.B. Freeman & Co. In the 1880s, Freeman’s sold Philadelphia’s Post Office building for $425,000, a record for a single piece of real estate sold at auction. The company was renamed Samuel T. Freeman & Co. in 1898. Sixth-generation family member Samuel M. “Beau” Freeman II is chairman. Beau’s sons Samuel T. III and Jonathan are also involved in the business. (See “Old-world business, new-age economy” by Thomas W. Durso, Family Business Magazine, Summer 2006.)
29. 1812 (or earlier)
Bear Funeral Home
Bear family
Funeral services/Churchville, VA
Christian Bear, an early settler from Pennsylvania, opened a mill to power his cabinetmaking business. Later, he transitioned to casket making and funeral services. Fifth- and sixth-generation Bear family members are now in charge.
30. 1813
ContiGroup Companies Inc.
Fribourg family
Grain, feed, food processing/New York, NY
www.contigroup.com
In 1813 Simon Fribourg established the company as a grain-trading firm in Arlon, Belgium. The family began operations in the U.S. in 1921. The company is now a major global agribusiness firm (formerly Continental Grain) with offices in nine countries. Longtime CEO Michel Fribourg stepped down in 1994 to make room for second-eldest son, Paul (the founder’s great-great-great-grandson).
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Oldest Companies Listed by State Companies Removed since 2003
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