History of George E. Darsey & Co.
Service 1st store since 1886!
Serving East Texas Since 1886, The Darsey Family has been in the retail business for 5 generations.
George E. Darsey Sr. came to Texas from Sunnyside, Georgia in the fall of 1873 with his aunt, Mrs. Harriet Cash, and worked on the Shivers farm on the Trinity River. When Mr. and Mrs. Cash returned to Georgia, George E. Darsey moved to Crockett where he clerked in a general store. He also carried the mail on horseback from Crockett to Centerville during this time. He was then a traveling salesman for a year or so, and after quitting the road in 1882 returned to his old home in Georgia for a visit. After returning to Texas, he went into business in Grapeland with John R. Foster. The business was originally a partnership between Downes and Foster before becoming John R. Foster and Co. An important element in the career of Geo. Darsey was the habit and rule he had always adhered to that he saved a part of his earnings regardless of the amount he was making. In this way, he saved the small capital necessary to go into business with Mr. John R. Foster.
According to Mr. Foster “George had $465, and I had $765… We had a pretty hard time getting started off, but we soon began to make money.” Mr. Darsey bought out Mr. Foster’s share in 1886 and continued the business under his own name, George E. Darsey. The original store was a frame building and housed a wide variety of merchandise. Mr. Darsey sold dry goods, furniture, groceries, and all types of farm equipment. As the business grew, he replaced the original building with a large brick building, 27’ by 125’ in 1898. According to the Crockett Courier, it was the first brick building in Grapeland. While visiting in Georgia, George encouraged his first cousin, William Grey Darsey, to move to Texas to help him in his business. William Grey Darsey moved to Grapeland in 1900. On his arrival in Grapeland, he went to work for George and slept in Darsey’s Store at night. In the early days, the town was wild and woolly, and it was a common occurrence for bullies to go up and down the street at night and shoot the lights out in the stars.
After the death of his father, Charley & Tonya decided to move George E. Darsey & Co. Inc. to its new location on the loop of Grapeland and venture into the furniture and mattress business. Darsey’s Furniture moved 1999 to 2009 into a metal building on the North Bypass in Grapeland. Tornado damage in May 2009 ripped the roof off our warehouse built in 1913 by George E. Darsey Sr. following the fire that destroyed the town. Nearly 100 years later, in May of 2009, a tornado caused the destruction of the warehouse. Once again, George E. Darsey & Co. had to regroup and decide a course of action. The decision was made to build a new showroom on Highway 287 in Grapeland. The new facility opened in September 2009 featuring 25,000 square feet of quality home furnishings that is connected to our old showroom via a walkway. The old showroom is currently used as storage and warehousing space for Darsey’s Furniture and Mattress.
On August 13, 2022, Charley H. Darsey purchased two metal plates stating ‘George E. Darsey & Co. EST 1913’ from Darsey’s General Merchandise building on Main Street. On January 18, 2023, one was installed in the concrete by Roger Kellum with Double K Construction at the front door of the showroom for even more generations of Darseys, staff, and customers to walk across. Today, in 2023, Haley Ann Darsey has joined her father, Charley Hill Darsey in helping run Darsey’s Furniture.
“TRUE GRIT WEATHERS THE STORM, I CAN SAFELY SAY THAT IT TAKES A LOT TO RUN A FAMILY BUSINESS, IT TAKES A LOT MORE WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN.” – CHARLEY DARSEY
NEW BEGINNINGS DON’T COME EASY OR CHEAP, BUT WE HAD A DECISION TO MAKE; BUILD ANOTHER WAREHOUSE OR A BRAND-NEW SHOWROOM. CHARLEY H. WAS UNSURE ABOUT THE DIRECTION TO GO, AS IT WOULD TAKE ALL OF THEIR SAVINGS AND MORE. CHARLEY H. SAYS THAT IS WHY HE IS GLAD HE MARRIED THE WOMAN HE DID, FOR AS USUAL SHE SET HIM STRAIGHT AND THEY BEGAN CONSTRUCTION ON THE NEW DARSEY’S FURNITURE SHOWROOM. TONYA SAID IT WAS FOR THEIR FUTURE, THE FUTURE OF THEIR CHILDREN, AND THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY. SHE POINTED OUT THAT ALMOST A HUNDRED YEARS’ AGOS CHARLEY’S GREAT GRAND FATHER GEORGE E. DARSEY SR. STARTED OVER FROM NOTHING BUT FAITH. ALMOST ONE HUNDRED YEARS TO THE DAY, TRAGEDY HAD STRUCK AND, ONCE AGAIN, THE DARSEY’S HAD TO PICK UP AND KEEP ON GOING.
“WE WILL NEVER FORGET THE MORNING OF THE DISASTER BUT I WILL NEVER ALSO FORGET THE MORNING WE OPENED IN OUR NEW LOCATION. BITTER SWEET AND WORTH IT. THANKS TO A VERY GOOD WOMAN MY WIFE, TONYA DARSEY, WE CONTINUED TO KEEP THE FAITH IN OUR BUSINESS AND THE FANTASTIC CUSTOMERS WE HAVE HAD FOR OVER A HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE YEARS. WE CONTINUE TO SELL THE BEST BRAND NAMES IN THE FURNITURE BUSINESS AND HAVE MADE A LOT OF LIFE LONG FRIENDS, BUT IF IT WAS NOT FOR THE CUSTOMER THAT KEEPS ON COMING BACK WE WOULD NOT BE HERE! A MAN TOLD ME JUST YESTERDAY THAT HE WAS ALSO A 4TH GENERATION IN THE BUSINESS. I THEN ASKED HIM HOW SO, AND HE SAID HE IS A 4TH GENERATION CUSTOMER. I WAS HUMBLED AND I THOUGHT WOW! SO, I MUST TAKE THIS TIME TO CREDIT TO MY WIFE, PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, AND GREAT GRANDPARENTS, BUT MOSTLY FOR OVER A HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF DEDICATED CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE FAITHFULLY KEPT ON COMING BACK. THAT IS TRULY HUMBLING.” – CHARLEY DARSEY
FROM MY FAMILY TO YOUR FAMILY I SAY THANK YOU!
CHARLEY H. DARSEY
PRESIDENT GEORGE E. DARSEY & CO.