Born
in 1835, Frederick August Requardt was eleven years old when he, his father,
and seven siblings left their small farm in Exten, Germany and emigrated to
the United States. They settled near present-day Verona, Ohio (in Preble Co.),
resumed farming, and Americanized the family name to "Requarth."
1852
- Turning a Profit
F. A. left the farm in 1852 to learn his trade as an apprentice wood turner
at the planning mill of the Blanchard & Brown Co. In 1860 he opened his
own business in the Stewart Planing Mill on Dayton's Wayne Avenue, specializing
in turned balusters and stair building. The company prospered and moved to
larger facilities five times during its first 35 years. Its present location
at Monument and Sears Streets, formerly the C. Wight & Son planing mill,
was acquired in 1895.
Among the most notable customers at the new facility were Orville and Wilbur Wright. The brothers were regular clients, purchasing spruce for ribs and uprights for their early flyers as well as material for their Huffman Prairie hanger.
1910
- New Heights Amidst Adversity
F. A. Requarth guided his
firm for 50 years. He died on April 15, 1910, only two days after falling
ill during a meeting of the Board of Directors. He was succeeded by his oldest
son, Henry William, who had joined his father in business in 1888.
Within three years, Henry would face the worst disaster in the firm's history. Located near the junction of the Great Miami and Mad Rivers, with a canal extension running across the rear of the property, The F. A. Requarth Co. suffered the full measure of devastation brought by the Great Flood of 1913.
The muddy water rose 20 feet, submerging the first floor and part of the second. When it receded, lumber and storage sheds had been washed into the canal, along with an estimated one million roofing shingles.
Recovering
swiftly after the flood, the company soon developed a national reputation
for fine millwork, employing woodworkers that produced a wide variety of items
for churches, banks, museums, and homes throughout the Midwest and East Coast.
Their projects included the woodwork for the new art museum in Boston, the
Engineer's Club in New York City, Cleveland's Playhouse Theater, and government
buildings in Houston, Texas and Wichita, Kansas. The great Madison Avenue
Presbyterian Church in New York City was also outfitted with woodwork from
the F. A. Requarth Co., as were many other churches and homes in Columbus,
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Wheeling, and Pittsburgh.
While the company shipped nationally, most projects were local. Requarth's mill produced fine woodwork for a number of Dayton schools, including Kiser, Ruskin, Garfield, and Van Cleve, and wood carvings and cabinetry for the Epworth and Ohmer Park ME Churches and the Otterbein Home in Lebanon.
Until 1918, the F. A. Requarth Co. also served as a general contractor. Among projects in Dayton were the St. Mary's Church of Xenia Avenue, the 14-story United Brethren Building at Fourth and Main (the tallest in Dayton at the time), and both Miami Valley and St. Elizabeth Hospitals.
1926
- Surviving Depression and World War
By the close of the 1920's, and in spite of the flood and World War I, the
number of shop employees had increased to more than 200, with overall employment
approaching 300. By 1926, the growth of the business led the company to expand
the mill on Monument Avenue to twice its original capacity.
In 1930, sales reached nearly $800,000, but as the Great Depression tightened its grip on the nation, sales dropped to $352,000 in 1931, and in 1932 to only $172,000, a 78% drop in two years. Sales would not again surpass 1930's record until 1941. In the midst of the Great Depression, Henry Requarth was stricken with cancer. He died in 1933 and was succeeded by his son, Earl Louis. Earl L. Requarth guided the company through economic disaster, but World War II posed a different threat as government restrictions and material shortages brought new construction to a standstill.
Again the company adapted, and cabinetmakers who once made intricate millwork for churches turned their talents to making ammunition boxes for the Army. Following the war, the demand for custom millwork declined and the company focused on supplying lumber for the nation's post-war housing boom.
1950
- New Markets in the Post War Boom
When Earl Requarth passed away in 1974, his son, Harold William, became president.
Harold joined the firm full time in 1950, after serving in World War II and
completing college. By the late 1950s he was leading the company into new
markets. The first Lumber Mart, an early "cash and carry" home center
operation aimed at consumers, opened in Kettering in 1959.
A second store was opened in Trotwood in 1963 and a third in Troy in 1966. In 1972, deciding to focus on the core business and exit an expanding home center industry that favored regional and national firms, the company sold Lumber Mart, Inc. to Wolohan Lumber of Saginaw, Michigan.
In
the early morning hours of May 23, 1972, the company suffered a catastrophic
fire. At its peak, 77 firefighters battled the blaze, flames shot 200 feet
in the air, and the red glow was visible in the sky for more than ten miles.
The man who set the fire was spotted at the scene, later arrested, and convicted
for arson. Fortunately, no firefighters were injured and no lives lost. Trucks
and most of the framing lumber were also spared, and as soon as the hoses
were rolled up, lumber rolled out. Debris removal took months, as did construction
of new steel buildings to replace the old wooden sheds, some of which had
survived the 1913 flood.
1980
- A New Generation
The company emerged from the deep recession of the early 1980's as one of
Dayton's leading suppliers of building materials to home builders, general
contractor, remodeling contractors, and industrial accounts. It is also one
of the few independent lumberyards thriving in a market dominated by regional
and national chain stores.
In 1992 the company initiated the first planned ownership succession in its history. Whereas in the past leadership changed hands upon the death of the president, this time the firm hired outside consultants to design an orderly transition to a fifth generation of family ownership.
Alan F. Pippenger, a great-great grandson of the founder, was named president and treasurer in January 1994, with Harold Requarth continuing as CEO and chairman of the board. Herbert F. Kavanagh became executive vice president and secretary, and John C. Requarth, vice president.
For a free copy of A History of the F.A. Requarth Co.
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