40 Businesses Celebrate 100 Years in 2024

Century Club congratulations go out to these companies celebrating their 100th anniversary in 2024. Only two are public companies; five are employee-owned/have employee ownership; and 26 are generational family-owned! It is becoming more difficult to identify century companies as we lose local newspapers and press coverage, so if you know of a business I have missed that should be on this list, please leave a comment.

Ace Hardware  Oak Brook, IL

Barton Malow  Southfield, MI

A. Duie Pyle  West Chester, PA

Alexander's Hardware  Bay Springs & Ellisville, MS

Barton Malow  Southfield, MI

Bergey's  Souderton, PA

Byrd's Famous Cookies  Savannah, GA

Elmo Tire  Youngstown, OH

Farrey's Lighting, Bath & Kitchen Hardware  North Miami & Coconut Grove, FL

Fligner's Markeat  Lorain, OH

Frank's Restaurant  Zeeland, MI

Genesco  Nashville, TN

H2I Group  Minneapolis, MN

Holman Auto Group  Mount Laurel, NJ

Howell's Grocery & Restaurant  Stuart, VA

Jack's Place  Port Allen, MS

JE Dunn Construction  Kansas City, MO

Joe Jost's  Long Beach, CA

Joetown Garage  Kalona, IA

Johnson Tire Service  Springville, UT 

Kegel's Inn & Beer Garden  West Allis, WI

KS Bank  Smithfield, NC

Mars Supply  New Brighton, MN

McMillen Inc  New York City, NY

Merkel Furniture & Carpet  Chelsea, MI

MDU Resources Group  Bismarck, ND

Na Hoku  Honolulu, HI

Plante Moran  Southfield, MI

Pratt's Country Store  Knoxville, TN

Pressell's Florist  Hanover, PA

Raub's Restaurant  Plymouth, PA

Rubensteins  New Orleans, LA

Schaedler YESCO  Harrisburg, PA

Sipe's Care Care  Robbinsdale, MN

Snelgrove's  Enfield, CT

Spruit Brothers  Grand Rapids, MI

Swanson's Nursery  Seattle, WA

Tadlock Stockyards  Forest, MS

Tate Engineering  Baltimare, MD

Woolley Home Solutions  Maplewood, NJ

Zachry Group  San Antonio, TX

Notable 200 Year Anniversaries in 2024

Fifty-three (53) Century Club Companies celebrate 200 years or more in business this year. Special congratulations to these six with notable anniversaries:

Bachman Snyder Funeral Home & Crematory in Strasburg, PA Founded 1769 and celebrating 255 years in business

Baltimore Equitable Insurance and Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia, both founded in 1794 and celebrating 230th anniversaries 

Bromwell's fireplace retailer in Cincinnati, OH and NYC law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore both began in 1819 and are now 205 years old

Ashaway Line & Twine, 6th generation Rhode Island manufacturer of world class racket strings, hitting the 200 year mark this year

Nearly 30 Companies Turned 100 in 2023

Close to 30 U.S. companies celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2023 and only two are public, including Walt Disney Company. Of the 27 that are privately-owned, 17 are generational family companies and one is employee-owned. Here is the list I have gathered to date: please let me know if I have missed one. 

Albanese Butcher, NYC, 3rd generation

Avalon Theater, Grand Junction CO

Borr's Shoes, Holland MI

Bradbury Stamm Construction, Albuquerque NM, 4th generation

Burns Chevrolet, Gafney SC

D'Arrigo Brothers, Chelsea MA, 3rd generation

Durable Corp., Norwalk OH 

Estwing Manufacturing, Rockford IL, family

Geissler's Supermarkets, East Windsor CT, 4th generation

Goedecke Decorating, Bedford NH, 4th generation

Harbor Food Groups, Kent WA, 4th generation

John A. Marshall, Lenexa KS, 4th generation

Lake GM Auto Center, Devils Lake ND

L.H. Hayward & Co., Harahan LA, 4th generation (Camellia Beans)

Lou Mitchell's, Chicago IL, 2nd generation?

Luck Companies, Manakin Sabot VA, 4th generation

McNamara Sports, Merced CA, family

Meinholdt's Welding & Machine Shop, Topeka KS

Old Point Financial, Hampton VA

Paielli's Bakery, Kenosha WI, 3rd & 4th generations

Perfect Building Maintenance (PBM), New York City NY, 3rd generation

Phillips Flowers, Chicago IL, 3rd & 4th generations (?)

R.H. White Construction, Auburn MA, 3rd generation

Sunnyside Ford, Holden MA, 3rd generation

Superior Die Set, Oak Creek WI, 4th generation

Walt Disney Company, Burbank CA, public

Wendell August Forge, Mercer PA

West Pharmaceutical Services, Exton PA, public

W.W. Norton & Co., NYC, employee-owned (publisher)

125th Anniversary Companies

 

Twenty-one Century Club Companies celebrate their 125th anniversary in 2023. Three are public (including Goodyear and International Paper), 11 generational family-owned (including Bechtel), and one is employee-owned. Congratulations to all!

Alter Trading, St. Louis MO 3rd generation (recycling)

American Nickeloid, Peru IL (manufacture metal products)

Bank of England, England AR (banking)

Bechtel, Reston VA 5th generation (engineering, construction)

Belletetes, Jaffrey NH 3rd, 4th & 5th generations (lumber & building materials)

Burns & McDonnell, Kansas City MO employee-owned (engineering, construction)

Cox Enterprises, Atlanta GA 4th generation (media conglomerate)

Detroit Store Fixture, Detroit MI (commercial equipment)

Eaton Funeral Home, Sullivan MO (funeral services)

FEH Design, Des Moines IA (architecture, design, engineering)

First Citizens Bancshares, Raleigh NC public - also 3rd generation? (banking & finance)

Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Akron OH public (tires & rubber products)

International Paper, Memphis TN public (paper products)

J. Elmer Turner Realtors, Dallas TX 5th generation (real estate services)

McKelvey Homes, Chesterfield MO (construction)

The Old Print Shop, New York City NY, 3rd generation (retail art)

Rambusch Lighting, Jersey City NJ 4th generation (manufacture electrical products)

Robertson's Building Center, Malvern OH 3rd generation? (lumber & building products)

Walsh Group, Chicago IL 4th generation (construction contractor)

Warnock Furniture, Magnolia AR 5th generation (retail furniture)

Worksman Cycles, Ozone Park NY 3rd generation (manufacture cycles)

Notable Anniversaries for Century Club Companies in 2023

Over 350 U.S. businesses celebrate being in continuous, independent operation for 150 years or more in 2023. Here are a few hitting some pretty significant milestones:

400 years: Zildjian 14th generation (began making cymbals in the Ottoman Empire in1623, U.S. since 1929)

225 years: Alan McIlvain and J. Gibson McIlvain 7th generation (both began as the McIlvain Lumber Company in Pennsylvania 1798)

200 years: Munson Machinery (New York manufacturer of mixing & blending equipment since 1823) 

New Hope Mills 3rd generation (though the mill no longer operates, New Hope still sells flour products - particularly pancake mixes)

175 years: Corning Building 5th generation, Hancock Lumber 6th generation, Maze Lumber 6th generation, Dain's Lumber 5th generation, and Richardson Industries 6th generation (all lumber and building materials businesses begun in 1848) 

Knapheide Manufacturing 6th generation (manufacture truck bodies)

Macomber, Farr & Whitten and Ohio Farmers Insurance (both insurance agents) 

150 years: Fehlig Brothers Box & Lumber 5th generation

Grant Renne & Sons 4th & 5th generations (construction & foundation repair) 

Horizon Bancorp (HBNC - the only public company on this list) 

Kohler 4th generation (well-known Wisconsin manufacturer of plumbing products)

Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Shearman & Sterling (law firms) 

Schantz Organ 4th generation (manufacturing pipe organs since 1873)

White & Associates (insurance agency)

Welcome to the Century Club: Class of 1922

 

Here is the list of companies that have been in continuous, independent operation since 1922 and are our newest members of the Century Club. Just one company is publicly traded (First National Bank Alaska) but it is also 3rd generation. 

Congratulations to these firms celebrating their 100th year in business in 2022:

Barden Lumber, Boyne City MI 4th generation (lumber & building materials)

Coffin Shoe Company, Knoxville KY 3rd & 4th generations (retail)

Copaken Brooks, Kansas City MO 3rd generation (real estate development) 

El Charro Cafe, Tucson AZ 3rd generation 

Ewing Irrigation and Landscape Supply, Phoenix AX 3rd generation (wholesale)

First National Bank Alaska, Anchorage AK public & 3rd generation

Haartz Corp, Bloomfield Hills MI 3rd generation (manufacture auto parts)

Jones Financial Corp (Edward Jones), St. Louis MO employee-owned

Kirwen's Supermarket, Gibonsburg OH 3rd generation

Pennsylvania Paper and Supply, Scranton PA 3rd generation (paper products)

The Lake Forest Shop, Lake Forest IL private (retail apparel)

Shamrock Foods, Phoenix AZ 3rd generation (food products)

Star Grocery, Berkeley CA 2nd generation

State Farm Insurance, Bloomington IL mutual

USAA, San Antonio TX mutual (banking)

Wells Print & Digital, Madison WI private (printing & publishing)

NOTE: Since it is very possible I've missed some, please post a comment if you know of a company that should join this list. 

125th Anniversary Celebrations for 16 Firms in 2022

 

At least 16 U.S. businesses started in 1897 are still operation today, 125 years later. This remarkable achievement is not limited to certain industries or states or type of business - though 12 of the 16 (75%) are generational family businesses. Four of the companies are public, with one (Smucker's) run by 5th  generation family. Representing 15 different industry categories and 11 states, here is the list:

Artkraft Strauss, New York City NY, 3rd generation (special construction trades)

Becton, Dickinson & Co, Franklin Lakes NJ, public (medical equipment)

Chelsea State Bank, Chelsea MI, public (banking & finance)

Clark Family Orchards, Palisade CO, 7th generation (food products/peaches)

First Supply, Monona WI, 5th generation (wholesale plumbing/HVAC)

Glik's, Granite City IL, 4th generation (retail apparel)

Gordon Food Service, Grand Rapids MI, 4th & 5th generations (wholesale grocery products)

Kintzinger Harmon Konrady, Dubuque IA, private (legal services)

Middlesex Water, Iselin NJ, public (utility)

Molin Concrete Products, Lino Lakes MN, 5th generation (building products)

Parker Flavors, Baltimore MD, 4th generation (food & beverage products)

Rathbone Hardware, Springfield MO, 4th generation (retail hardware)

Smucker's, Orville OH, public & 5th generation (food products)

Skerbeck Family Carnival, Escanaba MI, 6th & 7th generation (entertainment)

Tecla, Walled Lake MI, 4th generation (manufacturing/metal fabricator)

United Pickle Products, New York City NY, 5th generation (food products)