From then to now…

What once started out as a very humble start of a lumberyard has steadily grown over the last 100 years to a staple in the community. A place where people from all walks of life come to better their lives by improving their living conditions. Whether it be someone building their dream home or simply fixing that faucet that has that constant drip. We have a full product offering to take care of your home project needs.

Beginings

In 1917 Fred Graves sold his shares in Cooper & Graves Lumber Company in Trempealeau, WI to run a lumberyard in a small town known as Jonesville, MI. Fred Graves relocated his family to run the Jonesville Lumber store. In 1919 Fred Graves bought all shares to Jonesville Lumber and became the sole owner. Clyde Graves, son of Fred, was next in line to manage the store. In the winter of 1925, Clyde purchased the second store located in North Adams, MI. To Fred’s surprise, upon returning from a trip, received the news of his son’s purchase. Fred told Clyde managing two stores by himself would be too much, so they came up with a plan to bring Clyde’s cousin, Lynn Ford, from Wisconsin to run the North Adams store. Thus Graves & Ford Lumber was established. Graves & Ford Lumber ran from 1925 to 1967 and was sold to the McCall Family. Lynn Ford stayed and managed the North Adams store.

Moving across the street

Third generation owner, Don Graves, worked side by side with his father, Fred, learning the business and running a tight ship. In 1980 Don moved the store and expanded the operation to the other side of the Rd. to its current location, 108 W. Chicago St. Jonesville, MI. He increased the showroom by 10,000 square feet and opened the first drive through warehouse in Michigan. A state of the art racking system was installed and the company’s first computer system was implemented.

The fourth generation owner, Jim Graves, has continued to strengthen the foundation of the company by his commitment to the community and taking pride in great employees that have helped make the business grow throughout the years. Jim has established a strong company by his continual investment into the company’s fleet and equipment which allows Jonesville Lumber to provide top notch service to its customers.

Today

Currently the two sons of Jim, Ben and Abe Graves, are the 5th generation owners of Jonesville Lumber. The two brothers work side by side to oversee the day to day operations of the store. Their continued commitment to the local community and ongoing search to find ways to improve upon the learned lessons of their previous generations help keep the company moving in the right direction. Ben and Abe both feel that Jonesville is a great place to raise a family and that our community has so much to be proud of. The Graves family looks forward being a part of the Jonesville community for many generations to come.