Vaughan Bassett history

In 1920, shortly before his marriage, Taylor moved to Galax and went to work for his brother at Vaughan-Bassett.

In 1921, J. D. Bassett took the unusual step of forming a second furniture business, the J.D. Bassett Manufacturing Co., apparently to test the abilities of his oldest son, William M. Bassett.

The company was founded in 1923 by Taylor G. Vaughan Sr., his brother Bunyan C. Vaughan, members of their families and friends.

Other family members had also left the fold to form their own furniture companies, including J.D. Bassett's son-in-law, Thomas Bahnson Stanley, a future governor of Virginia, who started the Stanley Furniture Co. in 1924 on land adjacent to the Bassett plants.

Fire struck again in 1925, this time destroying a large part of the J.D. Bassett Manufacturing Co.

In 1926 or thereabouts, an effort was made to merge Vaughan and Vaughan-Bassett, but this effort was soon abandoned and the two companies would remain separate and competitors.

Two years later, in 1927, William Bassett, apparently unhappy with his prospects in the growing Bassett family of businesses, left his job as head of the J.D. Bassett Manufacturing Co.

Bassett Furniture Industries Forms in 1930

In 1931, Bassett Furniture Industries formed the Bassett Chair Co.

In 1938, Bassett Furniture Industries introduced its massive and elaborate Waterfall design.

After receiving many calls from area business people and former employees encouraging him to reopen, Taylor agreed and the company began making furniture again in 1939 with Everett C. Dodson as superintendent of the factory.

George came to work at Vaughan permanently in June of 1947

By the time John Vaughan arrived at the company in 1954, many improvements had been made.

When T. George Vaughan was elected president and assumed control of the company in 1955, he immediately announced plans to expand the factory.

The Bassett Chair Co. also began manufacturing coffee tables and other occasional pieces to fit the changing American lifestyle, culminating in 1957 with the formation of the Bassett Table Co.

In 1959, there were still four separate marketing organizations for Bassett products--the Bassett Furniture Co., J.D. Bassett Manufacturing Co., William M. Bassett Furniture Co., and the Bassett Table Co.

By 1960, corporate-wide sales had reached $60 million, employment had risen to more than 3,000, and Bassett Furniture Industries had become the world's largest manufacturer of wood furniture.

In 1963, Bassett Furniture Industries had also rounded out its product line by acquiring the Prestige Furniture Corp. in Newton, North Carolina, which made upholstered furniture.

By 1964, when Bassett Furniture Industries became the first furniture manufacturer to advertise in Reader's Digest, the marketing program was reaching more than 445 million readers.

J. D. Bassett, Jr., then 65, died unexpectedly in 1966.

In 1967, Bassett Furniture Industries opened its first retail outlet, a freestanding showroom on Interstate 85 between High Point and Thomasville, North Carolina.

Bassett Furniture Industries' sales topped $139 million in 1969.

That same year, it purchased the National Mount Airy Furniture Co., a manufacturer of upscale furniture in Mount Airy, North Carolina, followed by acquisition of the Weiman Co., a manufacturer of heirloom-quality furniture in Christianburg, Virginia, in 1979.

In 1984, Bassett Furniture Industries launched its Bassett Gallery program, a cooperative marketing program for retail dealers who were willing to set aside a portion of their floor space exclusively to settings of Bassett Furniture.

The company also acquired Impact Furniture Inc., a manufacturer of low-end occasional and bedroom furniture in Hickory, North Carolina, followed by the purchase of Motion Chair Inc., a maker of recliners, in 1986.

In 1993, Bassett Furniture Industries built the first United States finishing plant for 100 percent polyester furniture in Catawba County, North Carolina.

Bassett furniture is sold through major retailers, with 14 percent of the company's revenue coming from J.C. Penney stores in 1995.

Seeing this trend, Bassett opened its first store in 1997.

Much of this history was written by John Vaughan, former chairman of Vaughan Furniture Co., for the company’s 75th Anniversary in 1998.

Vaughan Furniture built a new office complex on Glendale Road in Galax in 1999.

The company closed its T.G. Vaughan bedroom manufacturing plant off Stuart Drive ― its oldest facility ― in 2003.

The E.C. Dodson plant on Poplar Knob Road in Galax closed in 2006.

Taylor Vaughan was elected the company’s sixth president in 2007 and today serves as chairman, president and CEO. David Vaughan is senior executive vice president.

Vaughan Furniture’s 85 years of manufacturing in Galax ended in 2008, with the closing of the B.C. Vaughan plant.

For example, it spent $8 million in 2012 to buy a closed plant in Galax, adding 50 production jobs as part of expanding its product lines to home entertainment centers.