Dykes Lumber Company

Dykes Lumber Company was founded in 1909 in Manhattan, NY by Andrew H. Dykes. The first store was located at 137 West 24th Street in Manhattan. A second store opened in 1912 at 348 West 44th Street. Over the next 30 years, Dykes Lumber experienced tremendous growth. By 1940 there were eleven yards in operation. In December of 1944, Andrew Dykes passed away and leadership of the Company was passed to Frank Homan, who was later succeeded by Louis Kreyer Sr. By 1963, there were fifteen yards in operation. At that time all the employee owners had reached retirement age and decided to sell the company, it was purchased by the Berwind Corporation. Dykes continued to grow and reached a total of 19 locations. However, in the late 60s and early 70s the economy turned, stores were closed and properties sold and by 1972 Dykes was down to four locations. In 1973 under the leadership of Lou Kreyer Jr., several key employees joined together and purchased the company back from the Berwind Corp...