Industrial History

These shabby buildings have a proud history. We found this history of the Mill on ConcordMA.com, an ezine published for the benefit of the community since 1998:

The Allen Chair Company was founded in 1906 in what was then called Concord Junction (now West Concord). It was run by three generations of Allens (all named Charles). They employed 80 people at their height. They became Allen Chair Corporation in 1931.

The first Charles Allen built three large buildings to house the factory and steam power plant (in fact, the steam from their boilers powered the Junction’s fire signal for years). At first, they made mission chairs as well as kitchen chairs. When World War I came, they made many wooden cots for the troops. Later, Windsor chairs, upholstered maple chairs and other furniture were made. The company also got into the office and school furniture business and made many thousand desks and chairs from birch and oak.

They had a reputation for high quality, strong furniture. “I remember seeing the Allen Chair name on my school room desk and chair,” says a Concord resident who grew up here. “They were great: you could stand on them, jump up and down, and they didn’t break. They were constructed simply and intelligently.”

Allen Chair was sold in 1956 to Finley Manufacturing Company, makers of household furniture. Later, the premises were occupied by Bradford Furniture which sold furniture retail. While this company is still in operation, it no longer has its Concord location. These buildings now house a variety of businesses.

Roughly 40 years ago, the owners of Dover Ski Binding (which operated on Beharrel Street) bought the Mill to warehouse the inventory of ski bindings that they sold through national retailers. Over time, as their inventory needs decreased, they rented unused space to small Concord businesses. As far as we can tell, not a single capital improvement was made during that time.

Modern History

In 2008, a small group of investors led by Nick and John Boynton purchased the Mill from the former Dover Ski Binding owners with the idea of doing something great with it. They didn’t have a particular plan going in – the buildings were well-occupied so there wasn’t a lot of pressure to implement anything new – but the economic crisis of 2008 and its aftermath ended any dreams of a major renovation.

John and Johanna Boynton assumed management responsibility in early 2010 with the commitment to preserve and enhance this special piece of West Concord history. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen slowly and surely.