WILKESBORO, NC - Pioneer Millworks, Farmington, NY, says it has has reclaimed over 100,000 feet of old wood from the original Drew Furniture Company factory in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Pioneer Millworks is remilling the wood as solid and engineered flooring, timber frames, custom cabinetry, furniture, fixtures, and millwork.

Founded in 1927, Drew Furniture Company merged with American Furniture Company in 1970 to become American Drew. With four factories in North Wilkesboro dating back to 1928, the well-established manufacturers had combined sales of about $15 million with over 19,000 employees.

Drew Furniture produced mainstream bedroom, dining room, and occasional furniture through the 1990’s. With the furniture factory out of use and falling into disrepair, deconstruction of building began. Pioneer Millworks rescued 70,000 board feet of timbers, 80,000 square feet of flooring, and 80,000 square feet of sub-floor material.

Some of the reclaimed oak timbers measured as large as 8”x16”. A mixture of flooring species was salvaged including oak, hickory, and maple. Much of the flooring has no paint, which is unusual for a structure of this age. The board widths vary from 2.25” and 3.25” while the original oak sub-floor offered wider 4” to 8” planks.

 “If we stop and think about the history of this wood, we begin to see why it’s so prized: the timbers and flooring were cut in the 1900s from trees that probably started to grow in the 1700s'" says Jered Slusser, Pioneer Millworks wood expert. Pioneer Millworks also reclaimed black and tan oak stable wood to make flooring for an equestrian center.