Stanley Furniture was founded in April 1924 by
Thomas Bahnson Stanley, who later became
Governor of Virginia. Stanley learned the furniture business from his father-in-law,
John D. Bassett, who had founded and owned
Bassett Furniture in
Bassett, Virginia. Stanley located his new company near Bassett, and the community it was in was soon named Stanleytown.
Early years In early 1924, Thomas B. Stanley resigned from his position at Basset Furniture in order to start his own company, Stanley Furniture. He founded the company in his home county of
Henry County, Virginia and brought on his nephew, Fred A. Stanley, and his brother, John W. Stanley, as some of the company's first employees. While building the first Stanley Furniture factory, Stanley decided to build a
company town along with it. With that plan,
Stanleytown, Virginia was developed. Over 100 homes were built to house the new factory's workers, and new roadways were paved. Rent for the new homes was $4-$5 per month. Stanley Furniture's first furniture collection, a dining room suite, debuted in 1925 and consisted of a buffet, china closet, server, table and chairs. The success of this first collection ushered in a time of prosperity for the company. Profits steadily rose from 1925 through 1928, and in 1929 the company decided to double its production capacity to meet growing demands.
1930s-1950s Following the Great Depression, Stanley Furniture experienced continued growth. The company's growth through the 30s, 40s and 50s led to the decision to complete a second expansion. This time around, the goal of the expansion was not only to meet new demands, but also to modernize the production facilities by increasing automation in the factory. The expansion cost a total of $4 million and was completed in 1957. It was also during this time period that the company's founder, Thomas B. Stanley, was elected to serve as
Governor of Virginia, an office he held from 1954 to 1958. Despite the success of the Rockwell collection, Stanley Furniture phased out their upholstered furniture business in 1998 and refocused on wood furniture. With its focus solely on wood furniture, Stanley opened a new, 300,000-square-foot facility in
Martinsville, Virginia in March 2000. The petition was intended to aid the companies in collecting duties against Chinese furniture manufacturers they suspected were selling products in the U.S. for less than fair value. Through a series of investigations, the
Department of Commerce and the
U.S. International Trade Commission determined that the claims were valid under the
Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000, and all 23 U.S.-based furniture manufacturers received monetary compensation funded by duties placed on Chinese furniture manufacturers. Stanley received the largest disbursement. ==Recent history==