Jacksonville Transfer Co. will open a Gillham House showroom and antique mall, expanding its custom furniture and salvage business.
Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree/Journal-Courier
After finding treasures throughout the building housing Transfer Co. Event Space, owners Mike and Gretchen Haney found a new passion: repurposing and restoring old items and materials.
What started as a project to use older wood found in the basement to create a dining room table has grown into the Haneys deconstructing old barns and recycling the wood for custom pieces.
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Gretchen Haney said that hobby has grown as people have started talking about the pieces the couple has created and more orders have come in.
Because of that growth, they have outgrown their current workspace.
“This really started after Mike (Haney) used some materials from the first building we owned and made me a dining room table,” Haney said. “Word of mouth has spread from there. This was supposed to be a hobby.”
The Transfer Co. Event Space at 611 E. State St. will continue to operate as an event space. However, there will be a new addition to the Transfer Co. name.
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The Gillham House, 326 W. State St., will become a showroom for the pieces the couple creates, as well as an antique mall on the top floor of the building.
Haney said they recently started working with Rick and Diana Carie to take down old barn structures.
They then repurpose the materials.
“We are doing an architectural salvage company, with a hodgepodge of different furniture and antiques,” Haney said. “Our goal is to preserve the history of our community. We’ll be doing custom builds, display tables, dining room tables.”
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Haney said they do not charge to take down the structures, instead keeping the materials they salvage as payment.
Once the showroom opens, people will be able to select pieces, commission pieces or purchase materials for their own projects.
The six-car garage at the rear of the building will be converted into a workspace for furniture creation.
Both businesses will continue to honor the buildings’ histories.
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The Transfer Co., a company that originally handled shipments being placed on trains on the nearby tracks, was housed in the building on East State Street.
The Gillham House will continue to be represented in Jacksonville Transfer Company@The Gillham House.
Built in 1870, the Gillham House has a lot of history, Haney said. It is a history they want to honor and preserve.
The building was operated as a funeral home for several years and has housed several small businesses.
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Haney said some cosmetic work remains, but major renovations are not needed.
She expects to be moved in and operating around the start of July. She is still looking for vendors for the antique mall.
“We have room for about 17 vendors and right now we have about five,” Haney said.