A brief history of Beiter's Home Center
In 1966, Beiter’s was founded by Robert W. “Bob” Beiter in an old ice cream store at the rear of 406 Hawthorne Avenue in Williamsport. The company first started as an appliance store focusing on major appliances – washers, dryers, refrigerators, freezers, ranges. At this point even microwaves hadn’t been invented, but when they were, we added them to our lineup!
By 1970, more growth meant a larger location was needed so Beiter’s moved to 1704 Warren Avenue. Our appliance line expanded to include more brands – G.E., Frigidaire, Maytag, Whirlpool and Amana.Continued growth required another move in 1974, this time to a building at 544 East Third Street, now occupied by East End Lumber.
In 1977, Beiter’s moved yet again, to a newly constructed building, right down the street to 485 East Third, now home to the Agape Fellowship. Our new building was much bigger, and in 1980 we entered the furniture and bedding business, which included living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, home office, upholstery, and we started carrying a number of mattress brands. We did so well that we ran out of space. So, in 1981 we purchased a building at 322 West Fourth Street, Williamsport.
Sales grew steadily and in 1991, we bought out Bob’s Warehouse Outlet in Lock Haven and the Wolf Furniture Co. location in Sunbury. We acquired the Mansfield Farm & Garden Center in 1998 and opened our Mansfield store. And in 2000, we moved our Sunbury store to the former Montgomery Ward building in the Sunbury Plaza.
In 2003 we relocated our flagship store from downtown Williamsport to the former Ames building in South Williamsport, which provided us with additional retail space, an entire first floor display area and free patron parking. And in 2006 our Mansfield store moved to it’s current location, to the former Ames location in Mansfield. We also added several small appliance lines – heaters, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, air conditioners, and even gas grills. And in 2017, we added an Ashley Outdoor, a line of seasonal furniture.
Locally owned and operated, Beiter’s strives to be Northcentral Pennsylvania’s number one source for your furniture, mattress and appliance needs, backed by the belief that we can be the best at what we do. This belief, combined with a philosophy of complete fairness to the customer is truly what has made Beiter’s Furniture, Mattress & Appliance the company it is today.
