In circa 1825-1826, Lambert Hitchcock built the three-story brick factory in Riverton (Barkhamsted) where his company produced the famous Hitchcock Chairs. The two-story wing on the east side of the factory was added in 1848 to replace the original wheel house (the factory used water power from the Farmington River) that was destroyed by fire. Hitchcock eventually left the company, but the factory continued to be used to manufacture chairs until 1864, being used to make other products afterwards. In 1946, John Kenny bought the old factory and started a new Hitchcock Chair Company. He added the pedimented storefront to the ell of the building facing School Street around 1950. The company finally closed in 2006, but new owners acquired rights to the Hitchcock name and designs in 2010 and a factory store soon reopened in Riverton.
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