History

Six generations of craftsmanship

In 1830, Moses Clore and sons, James Osborne and Joel, were the first generation of family cabinetmakers to apply their old–world skills to crafting quality hardwood furniture. At the time, chairs—usually carved oak—had seats woven from strips of the inner bark of trees, so called “split bottoms”. Joel is said to have originated the curved back chair which follows body contours more naturally and is still in production today.

Building and rebuilding

In 1921, Edward Ashby Clore built a furniture workshop on the site of the current plant. From time to time, he would even build a coffin for the use of his brother, J.C., the Town of Madison’s undertaker. The shop caught fire in 1927, but with no Town fire department, the workshop burned to the ground in the 20 minutes it took firefighters from Orange County to arrive.

E.A. Clore rebuilt, enlarging and revamping operations, but fire struck again in October of 1930 just as Clore was furnishing President Herbert Hoover’s newly built camp in what is now the Shenandoah National Park. When word of the destructive fire reached her, Mrs. Hoover loaned Mr. Clore $200 to help rebuild. In return, a table and chair, sold by Woodward and Lothrop in Washington, D.C., were named Peter and Peggy in honor of the Hoover grandchildren.

And today…

Having lost two workshops to fire, the Clore Family was instrumental in forming the Madison County Volunteer Fire Company in 1946, and, since that time, family members, including the current company president, have held the position of Fire Chief. That same year, E. A. Clore sold the business to four of his six sons: James, J.W., Daniel, and Lucien. Under the leadership of great-grandson Troy Coppage, the company today—rebranded as Clore—continues as a family-owned and -managed enterprise.