Beckstoffers - Planer

A central part of any millworking business is the planer. The purpose of planer was to create boards that are of an even thickness throughout their length and flat on the upper surface. These machines weigh several tons.Becktoffers had a planer made by the S.A. Woods Machine Company, of Boston Massachusetts. The machine shown to the right was purchased in 1958.
A planer typically consists of three elements: a cutter head which contains the cutting knives; a set of in feed and out feed rollers which draw the board through the machine; and a table which is adjustable relative to the cutter head to control the resultant thickness of the board.
To learn more about S.A. Woods click here.

Henry Beckstoffer

Henry Beckstoffer, the founder of the mill, is a native of Hanover, Germany. He came to Richmond in the 1890s. An unsourced article describes that "he has given to Richmond one of her greatest and most modern woodworking plants."

His grandson, famed vintner William Andrew Beckstoffer, said that Henry hailed from a town outside of Osnabruck, called Alfhausen in Germany. According to Andy there were a group of German expatriates that were in Richmond, so he came because they could speak the language.

More information to follow.

Money, money, money...

One day last summer I found a collection of general ledgers for the mill. It was amazing to see a window into the days when "the books" were hard books. There are thousands of orders from contractors doing residential work but also a great many churches, offices, schools and local universities.

A quick glance through the ledgers from 1951 through 1955 (post the last mill expansion) showed many notable clients. As the below entry shows the number of orders and the way they were tracked improved around 1953. In may cases the contractors placed orders and also paid advances on the jobs they ordered materials for.

In 1952 notable orders include work at the Washington District Negro Elementary School {no contractor} (May), Doyle & Russell at Calvary Methodist Church (Feb), and a job by A.H Ewing & Sons for faculty apartments at Virginia State College (Jun),

In 1953 the ledgers show a large order placed by Howard Mitchell construction for the Randolph School (April ) [a project I worked on for Better Housing Coalition }, another Thornton job at Carver Elementary(June) , Davis & Spiers doing work on Virginia Union University Residence (May), Davis & Spiers again for work at the Methodist Home for the Aged (May), W.T Clark & Co working on the Heating Plant at William and Mary (May), Claiborne & Taylor working at the Maury School (May), Gebhard Bucher at the Randolph School (Aug), F. Scott Rice at Weatherford Memorial Baptist Church (Sep), Ittner Construction at Sunset Hills Baptist Church (Oct) Thorington Constructionat RichRox office Buidling (Oct), Howard-Mitchell Construction on the Buchanan School (Dec) .

In 1954 commercial jobs included D.E. Ziebe for the Virginia Department of Highways in Ashland (Apr), Russell & B. Blank doing work at the Kingan & Co. Locker Bldg (May), Claiborne & Taylor at University of Richmond Law School (May), Howard Mitchel Construction at Friendship Baptist Church (July), Pettus Construction for the Black & Decker Building at 1424 Chamberlayne Avenue (Aug), Ramon E. Binns at Church of the Messiah in Highland Springs (Aug), Pettus Construction at Hampton High School (Sept), Bass Construction at Montrose Baptist Church (Sept), J. Leonard Moore at the Tuckahoe Women's Club on Dover Road (Nov), WT Clark & Company at High Street Methodist Church in Franklin, VA (Nov), Davis & Spiers for the First Presbyterian Church Addition (Nov), Pettus Construction working at John B. Cary School (Nov), Doyle & Russell at Bank of Virginia jobs, one on West Broad Street and the other at 8th and Main (Dec), and Howard-Mitchell Cosntruction doing work at Colonial Stores in Williamston and Mebane North Carolina (Dec).

In 1955 some notable jobs include WT Clark & Co. doing a large job for Methodist Children's Home (Mar), Johnson & Matthews doing work Reid's Lunch Room on Mechanicsville Turnpike (May), Bass Construction working at Wesley Methodist Chruch in Hopewell (Jun), Ittner Construction doing a small job at the Governor's Mansion (July), Doyle & Russell working at Petersburg Television Corp (Sept), Claiborne & Taylor doing large job at University of Richmond Library (Aug) TT Milby working at Battlefield Park (Aug), Milner Construction working at Dr. Bear's office at 2016 Monument Avenue (Nov), F. Scott Rice working at Harmony Grove Baptist Church (Nov), J. Kennon Perrin Co. working at Bethlehem Baptist Church on Penick Road (Nov), Townsend & Allman working on the School building at Fairfield Presbyterian Church (Nov), Doyle & Russell working at Marymount School on Cary Street Rd (sic) (Dec), and Doyle & Russell working at Overbrook Presbyterian Church (Dec).

Undated projects include Thornton Construction for Summer Hill School, and the pulpit at St. Paul's Catholic Church.

I also got a kick out of Bernard and Herman taking withdrawals at the end of every year of $69.00 each.

There are a number of entries just listed by date as well as with specific addresses. More time would allow me to cross reference these but I don't think that's going to happen.

What is a mill anyway?

A mill is just an old time factory. The term mill was once in common use for a factory because many factories in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution were powered by a watermill, but nowadays it is only used in a few specific contexts.

Custom architectural wood working, which was practiced at Beckstoffer's, is the production of fine finished woodwork and furniture. Common products include doors, window casings, baseboards, mantels, and crown molding.

According to Old House Authority in the late 1880s there were approximately a dozen such businesses in Richmond with thirty to fifty employees: Thomas E. Stagg at 1421 Cary St.; J.J. Montague, at the corner of Ninth & Arch Streets; Hare and Tucker, at 2318 Main St.; Whitehurst and Owen, at Byrd & Tenth Streets; DuVal & Robertson, at 11th & Porter and 7th & Hull Streets; and Binswanger & Company, at 1427 E. Main St. Binswanger, now a commercial glass company, is still in business; Siewer's Lumber Company and Ruffin and Payne, still in business, were also in business in the late 1800s. Becsktoffers came online a little later in 1897.

A brief history

1897 - Henry Beckstoffer opens a lumber mill.
1900 - Henry moves the lumber mill to the 1200 block of N. 28th Street in Church Hill. One of his notable contracts was cutting timber off the site of Byrd Flying Field, now Richmond International Airport.
1930s: Beckstoffer's sons Herman (father of Richard and Ron) and Bernard (father of Bill) take over the business and rename it H. Beckstoffer's Sons Inc. They shift the company's focus to custom architectural millwork. Clients from that era include Colonial Williamsburg and King's Dominion.
2006: The firm is sold and its name is changed to Retromillwork.
2007: Richard Beckstoffer reacquires the property and all millworking operations cease.
2008: Better Housing Coalition buys the property.