Florence Casket Company

16 Bardwell St. Florence, MA

A photograph of the Florence Casket Company building. The building is old and red brick. There is a small porch infront. The front door has a sign that reads: "SHOWROOM."
Photograph of exterior of Florence Casket Company, Florence, MA.

Located at 16 Bardwell Street since its founding in 1873, the Florence Casket Company, formerly the Florence Furniture Company, is the country’s longest operating casket manufacturer. It has been run by the same family, the Christensons, since 1958.

Florence Furniture Company

Florence Furniture Company was organized in 1873 by Samuel Hill, Alfred Lilly, George Burr, and others and established with $20,000 in capital. The building, initially powered by steam, was built the same year. Principal stockholders were mechanics and workmen in the factory shop. After the additions, constructed in 1880 and 1888, the building occupied three floors and a basement, employing around 35 hands.

The company manufactured “all grades of wood and cloth covered burial cases and undertakers’ supplies,” which were shipped throughout New England. The company was financially profitable, paying dividends of 6 to 10% into the early 1900s.

A plaque on the Florence Casket building. The plaque reads: "FLORENCE CASKET COMPANY / ESTABLISHED 1873."
Florence Casket Company plaque, Florence, MA.

Florence Casket Company

In 1918, the name was changed to Florence Casket Company, better reflecting the business.

In 1958, after the company had been owned by four generations of the Bosworth family, it was sold to Russell Christenson. It is now operated by the third generation of Christensons (Bill Hogan, whose maternal grandfather was Russell Christenson). 

Florence Casket can boast that it is America’s oldest continually operating casket manufacturer. The caskets and other products are made by hand by union laborers. Years ago, the factory had a showroom to which local funeral directors would bring families to choose a casket. Funeral homes later installed their own showrooms and would order replacements from the factory once an item in their inventory had been selected and sold.

In recent years, funeral directors have changed to displaying miniature caskets or to showing options on the internet, placing customized orders after the family makes their choice of model, wood, stain, and hardware. Items are now made to order, taking approximately 40 hours to complete. Florence Casket currently manufactures solid wood, metal, and cloth caskets, including eco-friendly and ceremonial options, in a variety of sizes for children, adults, and pets as well as cremation urns, shipping approximately two dozen caskets daily.