Oliver Lafayette "Fait" Williams

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Williams Furniture was major influence on Sumter

Posted: Sunday, May 30, 2010 6:00 am | Updated: 10:53 am, Sun May 30, 2010.
By Sammy Way

Oliver Lafayette Williams came to Sumter in 1919 and started the O. L. Williams Veneer Company, a one story, inexpensive building measuring 200 feet by 800 feet located on East Calhoun Street. Williams had amassed many years of experience in a number of businesses. When he arrived in Sumter he was approached by a group of supporters requesting that he lead them in establishing a chair and furniture factory.
This group of men included such prominent, public-spirited citizens as Neill O'Donnell and Davis Moise.

Who was O. L. Williams and how did he become such a dominant figure in the Sumter business community? Williams was born in the Fork community in Davie, N.C., on Nov. 16, 1865, to D.L. and Emma Rice Williams. He graduated from the University of North Carolina and began his business career by starting a company in the "plug" tobacco industry in Mocksville, N.C. He later sold this company to James Duke and opened the Mocksville Furniture Company, which he also sold to raise capital for his veneer plant opened in the same community. He later married Mattie Bahnson from Farmington, N.C., and they had three children: Louise Bahnson, Charles Frank and Martha.

The need for lumber to supply his veneer plant led Williams to Sumter, which had become well known for its large tracts of poplar timber, judged by many to be some of the highest grade trees of their kind in the Southeast. It was here that Williams built his veneer company and soon after expanded his holdings by incorporating several additional businesses, including the Sumter Veneer Company, the Veneer Manufacturing Company located in Conway and the O.L. Williams Veneer Company in Montgomery, Ala.

In 1925 Williams organized the Williams Top and Panel Company and authorized the construction of a plant near the Seaboard Airline Railroad on East Calhoun Street in Sumter. Julian T. Buxton, a 29-year-old energetic businessman from Winston-Salem, N.C., was chosen to manage the plant. Buxton had worked for the Mengel Company, one of the largest woodworking plants in the country at that time. This business proved successful from its inception, partially due to the leadership of the company officers including Dr. E.S. Booth, vice president; Neill O'Donnell, secretary-treasurer; D.D. Moise, E.H. Moise and C.P. Gable, directors.

The Williams Top and Panel Company initially measured 16,000 square feet, employed 50 workers and provided materials to 10 regular customers; however, by 1928 the facility had been enlarged to 150,000 square feet, employed some 400 men and had numerous customers across the nation. Williams served as president with O'Donnell providing assistance and advice as vice president. The company continued to grow at a steady pace, and with the addition of W.E. Covington, who was convinced to leave the Thomasville Chair Company, of Thomasville, N.C., at that time considered to be the largest furniture manufacturer in the South, the growth accelerated. Covington initiated the idea of "showing" Williams furniture at the major trade shows in Chicago, allowing people from all over the country to become familiar with the local home furnishing products. In a short time the Williams line of furniture became one of the most respected and desired lines of household furnishings in the country.

Williams Furniture, like most businesses, suffered during the Depression years but managed to survive even as many of its competitors began to close their doors. The plan was to produce cheaper solid wood products and cut employee wages to "distressingly low levels" rather than laying them off. Williams salesmen became very effective in negotiating lower prices from their suppliers. The factory closed for only two weeks during the years 1930-1933, a remarkable business feat during one of our country's most trying economic periods.

In 1934 Williams received an economic windfall in the form of a contract with Gimbel's Department Store to produce a collection to compete with a similar line of furniture being produced by Macy's, Gimbel's principal competitor. This newly designed collection of furniture proved a great success and gave the corporation a much needed economic stimulus.

A new conveyor system was installed, designed to help speed production. At the same time Marie Kilpatrick, who had designed the Macy's line, was given the responsibility of creating the first "authentic Williams Furniture Line" in 1935. As a result of these new additions the Williams Company was experiencing unprecedented growth and success. The future at the beginning of 1936 appeared to be bright and full of promise.

DISASTER STRIKES

Shortly after 3 o'clock on March 31, 1936, a fire began near the front of the plant and by 3:25 p.m. an alarm was received at the Sumter fire station. Before the trucks could arrive, the front of the building on East Calhoun Street was described in an article printed in The Sumter Daily Item as a "mass of flames." The fire was supported by a strong southwest breeze which helped spread the flames throughout the building. The fire department committed every piece of firefighting equipment at its disposal except the old steam pump in its effort to contain the rapidly spreading blaze.

The fire destroyed almost the entire plant except for several of the dry kilns located at the rear of the facility. Also spared was a large amount of stacked lumber near the kilns. Many of the residents who lived on Myrtle Street had begun to remove furniture from their homes, which fortunately were not damaged by the flames. Several boxcars loaded with furniture were moved, saving them from certain destruction. Workmen were able to remove a number of valuable tools from the building; however, the majority of the machinery housed in the plant was destroyed.

REBUILDING THE COMPANY

O. L. Williams made the announcement that the company would start the rebuilding process almost immediately. The plan was to construct a facility at a new site on Fulton Ave. on 23 acres of land owned by the company. This decision to rebuild was approved by the board of directors, which at that time included O.L. Williams, president and treasurer; Neill O'Donnell, vice president; C.G. Rowland, John D. Lee, C.P. Gable, Julian Buxton, T.H. Brice, Frank Williams, E.H. Moses, Sr., H.D. Barnett, W.E. Covington and Perry Moses.

The new building site was in the southwestern portion of the city. The initial phase of construction consisted of upgrading and equipping a large brick building that was originally built to serve as panel plant but was never put into use. Machinery was to be installed as quickly as possible and work was to resume as soon as the machines were operable according to management. The workers were assigned to a schedule of three-shifts over a 24-hour, six-day period. The building comprised nearly 40,000 square feet of floor space, and they could produce about a third as much as they had at the old plant over a 24-hour period.

Construction on a 200,000-square-foot facility would begin as soon as plans could be drawn. The building was to be 120 feet wide and 700 feet long and would be a two-story structure. The company also made plans to build a third building that would be two stories 150 feet wide and 500 feet long.

Prior to the fire the company had nearly 550 men on the payroll; however, after expansion the plans were to expand that number to more than 600. It was believed that the Williams Furniture Company was the largest corporation in the nation engaged in the exclusive production of bedroom furniture. The furniture made from maple had captured the attention of American consumers especially because of its beautiful design and finish. It wasn't long before production was reaching new heights and as many as 150 boxcar loads of furniture were shipped to the growing list of customers each month.

The payroll of the company work force averaged over $8,000 a week, with the executives and office work force earning in excess of $10,000 a week. Williams reported that the company had received numerous letters from other communities offering "special inducements and incentives," as reported in The Sumter Daily Item, to move the company during the economic downturn experienced during the Depression; however, the board opted against these offers, choosing to stay in Sumter "more from a sense of community pride and duty than from a financial standpoint." This further illustrates the bond that had formed between the company and the community.

In 1938 it was decided to build the Southern Coatings and Chemical Company to produce the increasing amounts of lacquers, varnishes and paints needed to finish the furniture being manufactured. The Southern Coatings plant quickly became one of the largest facilities of its kind in the South.

The company continued to enjoy growth and financial success, which was evident in 1941 when it began a rapid expansion in land and timber acquisitions. Within a short time Williams earned the title of the largest "local South Carolina Lumber Company." The first tract of land purchased by the corporation comprised 10,000 acres of pine and hardwood located in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. It was not long before the corporation owned 186 parcels of land measuring 172,000 acres.

Following the suggestion of Julian Buxton, the Williams Company purchased a sawmill in Russellville and the Alderman Lumber Company, including the town and sawmill in Alcolu. The Russellville property was acquired in 1942 and was capable of producing 150,000 board feet of lumber a day. The property, as remembered by former employee W.E. Covington, "included several dry kilns, a planning mill and a site that included 50 small houses, an office, commissary store, post office, a two-teacher school, and a seven-mile railroad with a locomotive, caboose and flat cars. The bargain also included a logging operation with 20,000 acres of partly cut timberland, a logging camp, store, three railroad engines, more than a hundred log cars and four oxen, kept by the logging crew as pets."

It was during this time that the Williams Company began the operation of a number of retail and building supply outlets where customers could purchase doors, plywood and assorted sizes of finished lumber.
World War II affected the Williams plant, like most industries in the country during this period of history. Production was slowed, and a substantial portion of the work force participated in some aspect of the military. However, the plant returned to full production by 1948 and was successful in setting up furniture showrooms in the major retail centers of High Point, N.C., Atlanta, Ga., Dallas, Texas, Los Angeles, Calif., and New York City.
The company also acquired several plantation homes during its existence, including Rice Hope, Lewis field, Archdale Hall, Spring Hill, Bonnie Doon, Cherokee, Wampee, Sandy Island and Oceda.

O. L. Williams died Nov. 20, 1952, at the age of 87; during his lifetime he was one of Sumter's most important business personalities. He was active in the Trinity Methodist Church and The Rotary Club, and had earned a 50-year pin for his service to the Masonic Order.

In 1967 the Williams Corporation merged with and became a part of the Georgia-Pacific Corporation. During the early ‘60s Williams employed approximately 1,500 people at its Sumter site, 200 were working in Alcolu, and more than 2,000 additional employees were located at various sites across South Carolina.

The Williams Furniture Company remained in operation for more than 50 years and during that time had a tremendous economic impact on the citizens of this community. It supported Sumter's wage earners during the Great Depression, provided numerous job opportunities before the coming of Shaw Air Force Base and during World War II produced many products used in the global conflict.

The merger with Georgia-Pacific in 1967 brought an end to the largest and most productive enterprise in the history of the Sumter community. The stories of what it was like to work in this facility are as varied and abundant as people who spent their lives working there. Perhaps the greatest contribution the company made was that its products helped Sumter become known, both nationally and internationally. It also facilitated the moving of numerous individuals to this area who used their talents to make Sumter a better place to live.
Reach Sammy Way at (803) 774-1294.

Posted in Looking back, Reflections on Sunday, May 30, 2010 6:00