Valley Girl Views: Culler Furniture, Williamsport Pa

Recently I received a washstand, from a family member. As I was moving it to clean it, I found a tag on the back telling me it was made by Culler Furniture, Williamsport Pa.

Christopher Luther Culler 1860-1924, owned and operated the Culler Furniture Company in Williamsport, located at the foot of Susquehanna Street on the site of what is now the Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Formed in 1892, the company's primary product was chairs, and a symbolic Culler Chair stood on the roof of the building, located at 200 Susquehanna Street [later the Atlas building, today Penn College].

Babe Ruth hit a home run over that chair, in an exhibition game played in Williamsport on October 31 1923. [The Culler Furniture Building was purchased by Atlas in 1951]

The building in the center, at the top, is the Culler Factory. If you look close, you can make out the chair on the peak of the roof.

The Athletic Field in the center is where Babe Ruth played his exhibition game. To the left is the Williamsport Technical Institute, you can just make out the works on the top of the building. The Henry Clay School is shown next.

This would be the view from the factory, looking across the field in the other direction, at the Henry Clay School. [It has nothing to do with Culler, and may have been taken before the new Culler factory was even built here, but it's an interesting perspective of the area, combined with the photo above]

A photo of a football game, with the Culler Factory, and it's famous chair on the roof.

I came across a record of Indentures Cancelled, "A Catalog of Pupils whose indentures were cancelled during the year 1904, to enable them to accept positions". On it was Taylor B. Flick, Factory boy, Culler Furniture Co., Williamsport Pa.

The original factory was located at 1560 Erie Avenue, Williamsport. [Erie Avenue was renamed Memorial Avenue]

In 1901, the Culler Furniture Factory burned to the ground.

Culler Co. "Chamber Suits" were Bedroom sets.

The new furniture factory on Susquehanna Street was constructed in 1913.

That property was purchased by Atlas Plywood in 1951, also known as "Atlas Flush Doors". In 1957, the Williamsport School District acquired the property. Today, the area is occupied by Penn College.

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The Culler Mansion
Vallamont
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The Culler House, 855 Vallamont Drive, Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

"Built in the early 1900's by C. Luther and Carolyn Gates Culler, this gracious and elegant brick and stucco home with outside front fountain exemplifies the Georgian style of architecture. In the style of The Great Gatsby, it features tall arched, floor-to-ceiling windows, fourteen rooms, five bathrooms, and maid's and chauffeur's quarters. The $100,000 construction cost was a sizable amount for the era. "

Christopher Luther Culler was born on October 22 1860, in West Milton Pa, the son of Christopher and Maria [Datesman] Culler. The Rev. Christopher Culler was a Lutheran clergyman at Milton. C. Luther Culler willed $5,000 [the equivalent of more than $88,000 in todays money] to Trinity Lutheran Church, in memory of his parents.

In 1890, Culler was the secretary for Kline Brothers Furniture, in Williamsport

In 1894 C. Luther Culler married Helen Houser. They resided in the Berkshire Apartment house in Williamsport. Helen died December 19th 1911, age 51.

C. Luther & Carolyn Culler's passport photos from 1920

In 1915, Culler married for the second time, to widow Carolyn [Gates] Fletcher. In 1920 the two applied for passports to travel to Japan on vacation, but they cancelled their requests when they could not produce proof of Carolyn's citizenship in time. Carolyn was born in Minnesota, and although Joseph Rhoads of Williamsport testified to knowing her for the past 25 years, no one was available to testify as to where she had been born.

C. Luther Culler, and his second wife, Carolyn Culler

The interior photos of the home, believed to be from around 1923, are very interesting. It's likely, but not certain, that most of the furniture was made at the Culler Factory.

A rocking chair and upholstered chair by the fireplace.

That rocking chair is almost certainly a Culler chair.

Likely taken about 1923, inside the Culler mansion. I do not know who is shown - the Cullers had no children of their own, but this was quite possibly a niece and her children.

C. Luther Culler died January 9th 1924, age 63. He is buried at Milton Cemetery. His obituary, in part, read:

"Mr. Culler some time ago placed his large business in the hands of old time employees and retired from active cares. He was a manufacturer of furniture." He was still the president of the Company at the time of his death.