Our Story

One small New England town...one small business...together 
for nearly two hundred years

First made by Abraham Tappan, who in 1768 (at age five) was among the first settlers of Sandwich, New Hampshire, ladder-backed Tappan Chairs have become an iconic and treasured part of their town’s history since the first one was created in 1819. Through two subsequent generations of the Tappan family, from Abraham’s son Daniel to Daniel’s own sons Walter and Winthrop, Tappan Chairs continued to be crafted from stout rock maple and hardy white ash as the family made its livelihood by selling and trading them throughout the region.
Picture
A Daniel Tappan side chair from the mid-1800's, discovered at a local antique shop.
It was only in the 1930’s that the business (already over 100 years old) moved out of the family and into private hands in the Sandwich community, first to Doctor Quinby and Albert Hoag, and then later to Cy Blumberg. Having survived floods that wiped out mills and washed away many patterns in the 1880’s, Tappan Chairs almost disappeared from the Sandwich landscape with the death of Cy in the early 1960’s--yet even then the business was saved at auction and placed in storage for two decades until Gunnar Berg revived and rejuvenated it in the 1980’s and 90’s. Adam Nudd-Homeyer took ownership from Berg during the 2000's, up until 2025, adding in some historic pieces and a broader range of wood. The Hansen/Paquette family took ownership in January of 2026, and are now the proud stewards of Tappan Chairs and its history. Our family has dedicated our lives to many trades like woodworking, fiber arts, design, and the study of our towns history. We are excited to build our legacy and start the next chapter of Tappan Chairs. 

See How a Tappan Chair is Made...

Musical accompaniment courtesy of Siena Kaplan, Tamworth fiddler and member of the Caravan Band