Drexel Interiors history

The Drexel plant burned down in late 1906 but was rebuilt with an insurance payment of $25,000.

By 1918 the plant had grown by 20,000 square feet, and the Blue Ridge Furniture Co. in neighboring Marion had been acquired by cash payment.

Drexel's net worth had passed the $500,000 mark by the end of 1922, and in the following year a 1300 percent stock dividend was declared and a plant acquired in Morganton.

In 1928, Drexel's sales were above $2 million and its total assets about $1.7 million.

Suffering the effects of the Great Depression, however, net sales at Drexel fell to $1.3 million in 1935, and the company's cash balance fell alarmingly.

National advertising eventually began in 1937.

One plant was acquired when Drexel bought the Table Rock Furniture Co. in 1951.

The average hourly wage in the southern furniture industry was $1.32 an hour in October 1956.

Once a midsized maker of auto parts and plumbing products, Masco had engineered more than 100 friendly takeovers since 1957, turning the Michigan-based company into three interconnected conglomerates.

A 1966 Business Week story ranked the firm third among United States furniture manufacturers, with annual sales of about $76 million.

In 1971 Drexel expanded its product line once again to include high-end Mediterranean style furniture and furniture for interior living space.

During 1975, in the wake of a nationwide recession, sales were only $86 million, but the company (eventually renamed Drexel Heritage Furnishings Inc.) remained profitable.

The product line was also expanded, following the 1982 acquisition of Frederick Edward Inc., a Morganton upholstery manufacturer.

By 2004 Drexel Heritage Furniture, Inc. was based in High Point and employed 1,300 workers across the state.