Baurer & Sauder Furniture

1940s Washington. The west side of town was Wilmor Road, and anything beyond that was farmland.  All shopping in town was done on the Square, with the exception of a few gas stations that peppered Peoria and Walnut Streets.

On April 29, 1948, Roy Sauder built a large furniture store west of the city limits, the building that now houses The Blend and other businesses.  At the time, the building sat in the middle of a pasture along Route 24.  More than 1,400 customers patronized the store on their opening day.  A few years after their opening, they decided to focus on colonial furniture and became a dealer in Ethan Allen furniture, which was surging in popularity at the time.

The Sauder Brothers business expedited the business expansion of Washington down Route 24.  Within a few years of its opening, there were several new commercial constructions down that stretch, including Essig Motors, the Ra-Mar Café, and a Sinclair gas station.  By 1957 that list included the King’s Kastle restaurant, the Crestview Motel, and Kroger grocery store.

In 1957, Roy Sauder partnered with his brother-in-law Ben Baurer in the business, which they ran together until 1961. At that time, with both men wanting to bring sons into the fold, it was decided that Baurer would venture out and form a new business with his son, Ron, focusing on contemporary furniture. Sauder kept his sales of the colonial type with his son, Ken. Baurer went further west and opened his Baurer Furniture store at 1503 Washington Road on June 15, 1961.

One longtime Washingtonian has remarked, “When I saw the lighted sign go up at Baurer Furniture, I knew it was the end of small-town Washington.”

Both businesses continued through the 1960s with great success, and both were significantly affected by the expansion of Route 24 to four lanes in 1969.  Sauder Brothers moved their entrance to the west side of the building due to the road expansion:

Sauder Furniture remained in business until 1974, when it downsized to only draperies and moved to the Square, in the building where the Courier now is. This business lasted a few years, and Sauder’s closed for good in 1976.

Baurer Furniture continued its service to the area's residents until 2009 and then closed its doors.