Foot Stool-Hitchcock Chair Company

L. Hitchcock

c.1818-1834

18.25'' L x 13.75'' W x 18.5 H

The original Hitchcock Chair Company got its start in 1818 by Lambert Hitchcock when he opened a furniture factory in Riverton, Connecticut, then called Hitchcocksville.  The company soon went from manufacturing chair pieces to making full pieces of furniture. Each piece was known for the beautiful hand-stenciled detail. The original Hitchcock Chair Company went through many names and ownership changes between the time it declared bankruptcy in 1829 until the mill closed shop as a chair company in 1864.

It merged with Alford & Co. in 1834. In 1843, he sold his interest in the company and started a new company in Unionville ,Connecticut, which also failed. He had started and opened a small cabinet shop that he ran until his death in 1852. 

The Hitchcock Chair Company had a second chance in 1946 when John Kenney became fascinated by the story of Lambert Hitchcock and reopened the company. By the mid-1950s and '60s, the Hitchcock Chair Company was again known for the best in New England quality. From the 1970s through the early 2000s, the Hitchcock Chair Company again struggled to stay afloat. It was sold again and again until it closed its doors in 2006.

In the spring of 2010, Rick Swenson and his business partner, Gary Hath, purchased the Hitchcock name, plans, and artwork, and began producing chairs.