12 Week of March 6 – March 12, 2015 SARATOGA COUNTY — You’d be hard-pressed to find a local, family-owned business in the region that has been around as long as Curtis Lumber. e full- service, home improvement com- pany is currently celebrating its 125th anniversary and as you can imagine, there’s a lot of his- tory behind this well-known and well-loved business. “It is still a locally-owned busi- ness owned by the original family – the Curtis Family. It’s unique,” said Dave Bielawski, Marketing Director for Curtis Lumber. “e family is most proud of the fact that they have been a part of the community this whole time.” In 1890, Elmer A. Curtis pur- chased the original sawmill on Charlton Road in Ballston Spa from Captain Isaac Henry Curtiss and thus began the inception of Curtis Lumber Company. Kent Curtis continued the Curtis Lumber Company fam- ily ownership beginning in 1938 and Curtis Lumber Company, Inc., was established in 1949 by Robert K. Curtis. In 1992, when Jay S. Curtis became president, there were nine locations. roughout the 1990’s and 2000’s, Curtis Lumber con- tinued to add stores for a total of 21 locations throughout New York and Vermont. In 2015, 125 years later, Curtis Lumber not only continues to grow as a company, but it supports local communities to help them grow and thrive as well. “e Curtis’ are very generous people,” said Bielawski. “We’ve done a lot to support local charities, local programs. We work with Rebuilding Together Saratoga County and I personally take care of a lot of the Eagle Scouts when they need help with projects. e Curtis’ are also strong advocates for pets and they’ve done a lot to help get pets adopted from shelters and so forth. ey’re really community-minded.” Curtis Lumber Co., Inc. employs around 600 people in its 22 locations and is New York and Northern Vermont’s largest inde- pendent building supplier. With the tremendous amount of growth and success the com- pany has exhibited over the last 125 years, the secret behind it is pretty obvious, according to Bielawski. “I think it’s a matter of being involved in the community and selling good products at fair prices, having good service and knowledgeable employees,” said Bielawski. “at’s the recipe.” As far as forecasting the future, Bielawski says the com- pany will continue to stay with the Curtis Family and the com- pany will continue to grow, even- tually celebrating (hopefully!) its 250th anniversary 125 years from now. For more information on Curtis Lumber Company, Inc., visit curtislumber.com. A Special Supplement to Saratoga TODAY • Pages 12-17 Curtis Lumber Celebrates 125th Anniversary Local Family-Owned Business Sees Continued Success by Stephanie Hale-Lopez Saratoga TODAY Photos provided by Curtis Lumber