* denotes new listing

* 76. Smiling Hill Farm/Hillside Lumber
Dairy, lumber/Westbrook, Maine
Founded: 1720?
www.smilinghill.com
In the 1720s, Colonel Thomas Westbrook and nephew Nathaniel Knight constructed a house in the Stroudwater region of Falmouth (now, Portland, Maine). The farm is still located on the same property. In the late 1970s the Knight family separated Knight Farm into two businesses to accommodate the farm’s growth in both agriculture and silviculture. Now, Hillside Lumber (est. 1980) and Smiling Hill Farm (est. 1982) are owned and operated by the tenth-generation Knight family.

77. Nourse Family Farm
Agriculture/Westborough, Mass.
Founded: 1722
www.noursefarm.com
After Rebecca Nurse was hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Mass., in 1692, her family fled Salem. In 1722, Rebecca Nourse’s grandchildren purchased land on the frontier in Westborough and established Nourse Farm, where descendants have farmed the 140-acre spread for more than 280 years. Jonathan Nourse, proprietor since 1971, expanded into prepared foods (jams, jellies, pies, etc.).

78. Tissages Denantes
Cloth/Grenoble, France
Founded: 1723
www.tissages-denantes.fr
At 18th-century French trade fairs, Michel Denantes and his wife, Barbe, established a reputation for fine cloth. Now, with more than 400 employees, the company specializes in linens and furniture to furnish hotels and restaurants.

* 79. Vergeest Metaalbewerking B.V.
Metal products/Druten, Netherlands
Founded: 1726
The company, which specializes in heavier metalwork, is currently managed by eight-generation members Nol Vergeest and Miranda Theunissen-Vergeest.

* 80. Clark Farm
Agriculture/Danvers, Mass.
Founded: 1728
In 1728, not long after the Salem witch trails, Peter Hobart founded a 12-acre sustenance farm for his family. In 1901, the Hobart family began producing commercially. The father and grandfather of current owner Bill Hobart-Clark (eighth- and ninth-generation members) 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.

81. MöllerGroup GmbH & Co. KG
Plastics technology, leather processing/Bielefeld, Germany
Founded: 1730
www.mollergroup.com
Johan Theodor Möller began producing and trading copper goods in Warstein in 1730. In 1827, his son Théodore Adolf founded a tannery and leather goods factory, which is still in production today. Later, under the direction of third-generation leader Friedrich Möller, the company developed into a diversified commercial enterprise. Successive generations expanded the family’s focus to include an engineering division (1863) and a plastics division (1936). The family firm is now in its seventh generation of family leadership with eighth-generation involvement under the stewardship of Dr. Peter von Möller, the chairman.

82. Amarelli Fabbrica de Liquirizia
Licorice/Rossano Scalo, Italy
Founded: 1731
www.liquirizia.it
The family’s roots in Italy’s southern Calabria region predate the year 1000. Fortunato Amarelli and his son started the Amarelli company in 1731 in Rossano by harvesting licorice to sweeten their land when it lay fallow. In 1987 the company won the gold medal from the Italian Chemical Company for combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. Amarelli Fabbrica de Liquirizia exports to more than ten countries. The company also produces licorice bath products, liquor, flavored pastas and chocolates.

83. Fratelli Piacenza Corp.
Woolens/Pollone, Italy
Founded: 1733
www.piacenza1733.it
Pietro Francesco Piacenza opened a woolen mill in Pollone, a small town nestled at the foot of the Alps, near the Swiss and French borders. The family prides itself on its strict quality standards -- it says its method of producing wool takes up to six times longer than some more modern techniques. Enzo, Vittorio and Carlo Piacenza head the company.

* 84. (tie) The Howell Farm
Agriculture, cattle/Cedarville, N.J.
Founded: 1741
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, they produce cattle, salt hay, soybeans and alfalfa.

84. (tie) Lyman Orchards
Agriculture/Middlefield, Conn.
Founded: 1741
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 executive vice president John Lyman III.

86. John Whitley Farm
Agriculture/Williamston, N.C.
Founded: 1742
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.

87. Boplaas
Agriculture/Koue Bokkeveld, Cape Town, South Africa
Founded: 1743
www.boplaas.co.za
Isaak Wilhelm Van der Merwe founded the farm in 1743; his descendants restored it in 1956. The family has built a literary legacy through poet Isaac Wilhelmus Van der Merwe, known nationally as “Boerneef,” and author Carl Van der Merwe (eighth generation). The family farm was declared a national monument in 1973.

88. (tie) Fonderia Daciano Colbachini & Figli
Bell foundry/Padua, Italy
Founded: 1745
www.fonderiacolbachini.it
The foundry was established by Giuseppe Colbachini, who joined with his three brothers to make bells. On Jan. 17, 1898, the Colbachini family’s talents earned them the prestigious title “Fonderia Pontificia.” To this day, Fonderia Daciano Colbachini & Figli is the only maker of bells in the world that can stamp its products with the papal coat of arms. Giovanni Aldinio-Colbachini now leads the business.

88. (tie) J.D. Neuhaus Hebezeuge
Winch manufacturers/Witten-Heven, Germany
Founded: 1745
www.jdn.de
The company, founded by Johann Diederich Neuhaus, started by producing wooden jacks, which were in high demand by carters who would break their wheels on the rough terrain of 18th-century roads. In 1952 the company invented the air hoist, which was safer than the electrical hoists produced at the time. Today, the company’s products are sold in 90 countries. One product, the Gorilla V, is reportedly the world’s most powerful air hoist: it can lift 250 tons. Wilfried Neuhaus-Galladé is the current chairman.

90. Villeroy & Boch
Housewares/Mettlach, Germany
Founded: 1748
www.villeroy-boch.com
The family business began in Lorraine when François Boch, then an iron founder, started making ceramic tableware. In 1791, Nicolas Villeroy established a nearby ceramic factory. In 1836, these two families merged their factories to form Villeroy & Boch. Non-family member Frank Goring succeeded eighth-generation family member Wendelin von Boch-Galhau as CEO in 2007.

91. Parlange Plantation
Agriculture/New Roads, La.
Founded: 1750
www.pcchamber.org/parlange.htm
Parlange Plantation, a National Historic Landmark, is one of Louisiana’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, and a museum room in the wine cellar displays blacksmith tools, a cotton scale, candle molds and cyprus brick molds. During the Civil War, the plantation hosted generals from both the North and the South.

92. (tie) Franz Haniel
Conglomerate/Duisburg, Germany
Founded: 1756
www.haniel.de
Jan Willem Noot founded the company and renamed it for his grandson Franz Haniel. The family-owned conglomerate controls Gehe, Europe’s biggest drug wholesaler, and Lloyd Chemists, a household name in Britain. It also has large stakes in retailers, mail-order houses, steel recycling, concrete blocks and disaster recovery services.. About 520 Haniel family members are shareholders (although an unwritten rule precludes them from working there full-time). Franz Haniel is chairman of the firm’s supervisory board.

92. (tie) Riedel Glas GmbH
Glassmaking/Kufstein, Austria
Founded: 1756
www.riedel.com
Johann Christoph Riedel journeyed throughout Europe trading glass. His son Johann Carl, a guilder and glasscutter, operated his own workshop. In 1756 his grandson Johann Leopold founded a glass factory and rebuilt windowpanes after the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) between the Austrians and Prussians. Ninth-generation member Claus J. was the first to design wineglasses according to the character of the wine. Tenth-generation member Georg is president, 11th-generation member Maximilian is CEO of Riedel Crystal of America. Another 11th-generation member, Laetizia, is the firm’s legal adviser.

94. (tie) Lanificio Conte S.p.A.
Woolens/Schio, Italy
Founded: 1757
www.henokiens.com/index_lanificio_gb.php
In 1757 Antonio Di Giovan Battista bought a woolen mill. Since then, the firm has cultivated a reputation for fine women’s clothing and continues to operate in the original location. The current president is Gemma Boniver Conte. His son Alvise Boniver is managing director.

* 94. (tie) Meerlust
Wine/Stellenbosch, South Africa
Under Myburgh family since 1757
www.meerlust.co.za
In 1693 the governor of the cape, Simon van der Stel, granted the land to Henning Hüsing, who named the farm Meerlust after the pleasure he derived from the sea breezes. Johannes Albertus Myburgh bought Meerlust in January 1757. Current owner Hannes Myburgh represents the eighth generation of the Myburgh dynasty. He studied winemaking in Germany and worked at Chateau Lafite in France and Von Oetinger in Germany.

96. (tie) Jose Cuervo
Tequila/Tequila, Mexico
Founded: 1758
www.cuervo.com
In 1758 the king of Spain granted land to Don José Antonio de Cuervo, and in 1795 he granted the first license to produce tequila to Don José’s son José Maria Guadalupe. The family business is now Mexico’s oldest company. In Spanish, Cuervo means “crow,” the symbol the firm uses to identify its products.

* 96. (tie) Frenckellin Kirjapaino Oy
Printing house/Espoo, Finland
Under Frenkell family since 1758
www.frenckell.fi
Peter Brahe, Swedish governor general of Finland, started a printing house in Turku. Johann Christopher Frenckell joined the company as a printing assistant in 1743 and bought shares of the company in 1758. Frenckellin Kirjapaino Oy, the oldest printing house in the Nordic countries, has passed from father to son for 14 generations.

98. Waterford Wedgwood
Crystal, china, cookware/Dublin, Ireland
Founded: 1759
www.waterfordwedgwood.com
Waterford Wedgwood is perhaps the world’s leading maker of luxury crystal, china, ceramics and cookware. The company’s most visible product is the large crystal ball lowered every New Year’s Eve in New York’s Times Square. Chairman Tony O’Reilly and his brother-in-law control about 51%. Founder Josiah Wedgwood’s great-great-great-great-grandson Alan is on the board of directors.

99. Creed Perfume
Perfumes/Paris, France
Founded: 1760
www.parfumscreed.com
In 1760 King George III appointed James Creed to make fragrances. In 1854 the company moved its operations from London to Paris. Both Prince Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, commissioned the company to make scents for them. Today, owner Oliver Creed produces 238 fragrances.

100. (tie) Faber-Castell
Writing instruments/Stein, Germany
Founded: 1761
www.faber-castell.com
Kaspar Faber, a cabinetmaker, founded the company in Stein, Germany (near Nuremberg) by producing his own pencils. Currently, Count Anton Wolfgang Graf von Faber-Castell manages the company, which offers about 2,000 products.

* 100. (tie) Great Brook Farm
Agriculture/Canterbury, N.H.
Founded: 1761
The dairy farm, established in 1761 by John and Lydia Graves, has been an ongoing commercial concern ever since. The farm, now in its tenth generation, is run by Peter Graves, the ninth-generation farm manager. Peter and Brenda Graves’ son Sam, of the tenth generation, is learning farming. His older cousin Andy, son of Peter’s sister Cindy and her husband, Dave Westover, works full-time on the farm and also represents the tenth generation. Eighth-generation members George and Bob Graves are also still active.

World’s Oldest Companies Listed by Country     Companies Removed since 2004