Antique Murphy Chair Company quartersawn oak dining or desk chair featuring slatted back with handle. At its peak, the Murphy Chair Company Detroit facility produced 123 types of chairs that are still renowned around the world. M.J. Murphy was a young entrepreneur that began the Murphy business at the young age of 20 in what would eventually grow at its peak to become the largest chair manufacturing company in the world. He would go on to become a leading manufacturer of his time and founding member of the Detroit Downtown Business Association as well as a member of the board of a young General Motors Company. M.J. Murphy, the Gentle Lion as he would come to be known, built $2000 in borrowed money from his father in 1870 into the largest furniture manufacturing company in the world. Now some 150 years later, this company is still known across the world for its signature Murphy Chair. 1890: The Murphy, Wasey and Company, a major chair manufacturer from Detroit, moved to North Omaha and built a five-story factory at 3167-77 Spaulding Street. The factory produced chairs and mattresses, and the Belt Line Railway transported them throughout the Midwest. 1905: J. H. Hickman and W. E. Ebbert, founders of the Owensboro Wagon Company, started the Hickman-Ebbert Wagon Company. The business failed after a few years, and the building was then used by The Stenotype Company from 1910-1913. 1917: The Murphy Chair Company bought the building. 1961: The company became the Murphy-Miller Chair Company. 1964: Kroehler Manufacturing Company bought Murphy Miller Inc Dimensions: 16"L x 18"W x 36"H, 17.5" seat height