Sweat-Comings Company - Richford, Vermont - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

Because of the abundance and good quality of the timber near Richford, woodworking in its various branches is the town's main industry, nearly 500 persons being employed in the furniture, plywood and veneer mills. The largest of these mills is in the center of the village adjacent to the falls that supplied the power for the necessary grist mill of the early settlers.

First established in 1875 as Sweat & Powell to manufacture blinds and sashes, eventually evolving into a maker of high quality furniture, now quite collectible. At one point customers were willing to wait a year for delivery of a bedroom or dining room set.

The business lasted well into the 1980s before it shut down. Fifty people out of work in a town of 2,500 was quite a blow.

As you can see from the old picture, there were once two nearly identical factory buildings, side by side, with shops on the ground floors. The north building was demolished (roughly 2002), along with the front third of the south building.

The remaining structure was fully renovated, and now houses a grocery store on the ground floor, the Richford Health Center and pharmacy on the second, and senior housing on the third. As of this posting, the owners are still seeing tenants for the remaining 10,000 square feet on the fourth floor.