Seigle's Cabinet Center history

1896: Elgin’s Fire Barn No.

1898: Lord’s Park Pavilion is dedicated in Elgin.

1906: Construction begins on the Elgin Public Museum, which is currently the oldest purpose-built museum in Illinois, beginning as a Audubon museum.

1914: The street sweeper is invented by Elgin resident John Murphy, and they are still being made here under the Elgin Sweeper brand.

1929: The Elgin Tower Building is built in the Art Deco Style.

As recovery began, at the onset of World War II, lifelong Elgin resident Harold T. Seigle and a partner pooled their money in order to purchase what was then known as the Elgin Lumber & Supply Company in 1942.

The partnership incorporated as Seigle's in 1952 in a postwar period favorable to building and home improvements.

The growing demand for such components as pre-hung doors led Seigle's to open its own Millwork Center in 1967 for the manufacture of components.

Seigle family leadership at the company was bolstered in 1974, when Harry J. Seigle joined his father's business.

In 1975, Seigle's moved outside of Elgin for the first time, opening a retail outlet in nearby St Charles, Illinois.

In 1983, Seigle's Millwork Center manufacturing operation moved into larger facilities in Elgin.

In 1984 the company was renamed Seigle's Home & Building Centers to more accurately reflect its commitment to both contractors and homeowners, as well as its intentions of competing with the superstore chains.

By 1990, Seigle's was reporting record growth.

In 1998, company founder Harold Seigle died at the age of 89 after suffering a stroke.

Sales in 2000 reached $196 million, an increase of 3 percent over the previous year and an impressive figure given intensifying competition for market share in the Chicago area.

Gut instinct that the business wasn't going as planned spurred Klein to call the investors in November 2008.