America’s Oldest Business in Every State: Historic Companies Listed

There’s no single formula for business longevity. Some of America’s oldest companies have remained in the same family for generations. Others survived fires, economic downturns, Prohibition and many other threats that would have closed less resilient businesses.

What unites these long-lived companies—one chosen for each state plus Washington, D.C.—is strong community ties and a reputation for reliability that keeps customers coming back year after year.

Restaurants, bars, farms and jewelers feature prominently on the list, along with newspapers, funeral homes and even a ferry service. The oldest business in the nation predates American independence by more than 150 years.

Alabama: Bromberg’s

Founded: 1836

Locations: Birmingham and Mobile

Type: Jewelry

Bromberg’s was founded by Prussian immigrant Frederick Bromberg just 18 years after Alabama became a state. It is one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the country and is run today by the sixth generation of Brombergs.

Alaska: Alaska Commercial Co.

Founded: 1867

Locations: 33 stores statewide

Type: Grocery and general store

The company traces its roots to the Russian American Trading Company, which received trading rights from Russia’s Catherine the Great in 1776. After the U.S. purchased Alaska in 1867, merchants bought out the operation and it evolved into the Alaska Commercial Company that still serves communities across the state.

Arizona: The Palace

Founded: 1877

Location: Prescott

Type: Restaurant and bar

Opened on Prescott’s historic Whiskey Row, The Palace was a favored hangout for Wyatt and Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday. The current bar occupies what remains of the original saloon and is often listed among America’s most notable historic bars.

Arkansas: Rose Law Firm

Founded: 1820

Location: Little Rock

Type: Law practice

Established 16 years before Arkansas’s statehood, Rose Law Firm is noted as the oldest law firm west of the Mississippi. The original partnership agreement still hangs in the firm’s boardroom, a link to the firm’s long legal history.

California: Ducommun

Founded: 1849

Location: Santa Ana

Type: Aerospace manufacturer

Beginning as a hardware store, Ducommun played a key role in the rise of Southern California’s aerospace industry. Today it manufactures electronic and structural systems for aerospace, defense and industrial markets.

Colorado: R&R Market

Founded: 1857

Location: Costilla

Type: Grocery and general store

The original adobe building had 25-inch thick walls and a rock-and-mud foundation. R&R Market remains a cultural touchstone in Colorado’s Hispanic history and is still operated by a descendant of the original owner.

Connecticut: Field View Farm

Founded: 1639

Location: Orange

Type: Dairy and farm equipment

Twelve generations of the Hine family have kept this farm running. After a devastating fire, the farm diversified into selling farm machinery in the 1990s to preserve the business for the future.

Delaware: DuPont

Founded: 1802

Location: Wilmington

Type: Chemical conglomerate

Originating as a gunpowder mill, DuPont became a global chemical innovator responsible for developments such as synthetic fibers, advanced polymers and refrigerants that shaped modern industry.

Florida: Pensacola Hardware

Founded: 1851

Location: Pensacola

Type: Hardware store

Operated by only two families since its founding, Pensacola Hardware attributes its longevity to adapting with the times and consistently providing what local customers want.

Georgia: The Pirates’ House

Founded: 1753

Location: Savannah

Type: Restaurant

Housed in Georgia’s oldest building, this restaurant has roots as an experimental public garden and later an inn. The site is steeped in lore and was reportedly visited by the writer Robert Louis Stevenson.

Hawaii: Amfac

Founded: 1849

Location: Lahaina

Type: Land development

Originally a sugar company and once part of Hawaii’s powerful “Big Five,” Amfac now focuses on land development and operates publicly under a different corporate name while preserving its historical legacy.

Idaho: Joyce Livestock Co.

Founded: 1865

Location: Owyhee County

Type: Cattle ranch

Operated by five generations of the Joyce-Nettleton family across thousands of acres, this ranch has long navigated the complexities of grazing and water rights in the American West.

Illinois: C.D. Peacock

Founded: 1837

Location: Chicago

Type: Jewelry

Starting as a jewelry and watch repair shop founded by an English immigrant, C.D. Peacock survived the Great Chicago Fire and now operates multiple locations in the city it helped serve from its earliest days.

Indiana: Register Publications

Founded: 1836

Location: Lawrenceburg

Type: Newspaper publisher

Known for The Dearborn County Register, this publishing house produces weeklies and dailies serving local communities with trusted reporting and a legacy of local journalism.

Iowa: Breitbach’s Country Dining

Founded: 1852

Location: Balltown

Type: Restaurant and bar

A family-owned restaurant famous for pies and traditional comfort food, Breitbach’s survived consecutive fires in the late 2000s and continues to be a beloved dining destination.

Kansas: Davis Funeral Chapel

Founded: 1855

Location: Leavenworth

Type: Funeral home

Run by seven generations of the Davis family, this funeral home has served local communities for generations and handled high-profile cases from regional history.

Kentucky: Jim Beam

Founded: 1795

Location: Clermont

Type: Bourbon distillery

One of the most recognized bourbon names globally, Jim Beam has been produced by descendants of the family that founded it. The brand is now owned by an international company but retains its deep Kentucky roots.

Louisiana: Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop

Founded: 1772

Location: New Orleans

Type: Bar

This iconic bar on Bourbon Street occupies one of New Orleans’s oldest surviving structures and is wrapped in the tales of the Lafitte brothers and the city’s colonial past.

Maine: Seaside Inn

Founded: 1667

Location: Kennebunkport

Type: Hotel

Operated by the Gooch family for more than a century, this inn predates the United States and began as housing for ferry workers. It is among the nation’s oldest continually operating businesses.

Maryland: Middleton Tavern

Founded: 1750

Location: Annapolis

Type: Restaurant

Frequented by early American leaders, Middleton Tavern played a role in post-Revolutionary gatherings tied to events that led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. It remains a historic dining landmark.

Massachusetts: Barker’s Farm

Founded: 1642

Location: North Andover

Type: Farm and orchard

Run by eleven generations of the Barker family, the farm is known for apples, vegetables and other produce sold on-site and is one of the oldest businesses in the nation.

Michigan: George Jerome & Co.

Founded: 1828

Location: Detroit

Type: Civil engineering

The Jerome family helped shape Detroit’s early urban development by designing streets and city boundaries. Their company remains active in engineering and construction services.

Minnesota: Fred W. Radde & Sons

Founded: 1886

Location: New Germany

Type: Auctioneer

Now in its later generations, Fred W. Radde & Sons continues to hold live auctions while also offering online and phone bidding to meet modern customer needs.

Mississippi: King’s Tavern

Founded: 1789

Location: Natchez

Type: Restaurant and bar

Housed in Natchez’s oldest building, King’s Tavern began as an inn and tavern and today emphasizes farm-to-table fare in a historic setting.

Missouri: O’Malley’s Pub

Founded: 1842

Location: Weston

Type: Brewery and pub

The last surviving brewery from Weston’s riverbank brewing era, O’Malley’s is now part of a larger brewery and retains historic features like a deep beer cellar used for both production and events.

Montana: Bale of Hay Saloon

Founded: 1863

Location: Virginia City

Type: Bar

With Old West character and ghost stories, the Bale of Hay began as a grocery and liquor store, became a saloon and after decades vacant was restored mid-20th century into the bar visitors see today.

Nebraska: First National Bank

Founded: 1857

Location: Omaha

Type: Bank

Founded during the Panic of 1857 by the Kountze brothers, the bank once traded in gold dust and bison hides. Its early days included colorful stories of a vault secured with leather straps and round-the-clock protection.

Nevada: Genoa Bar

Founded: 1853

Location: Genoa

Type: Bar

Known through many name changes, this establishment has preserved original elements like part of the bar and an oil lamp still ceremonially lit each New Year’s Eve.

New Hampshire: Tuttle’s Red Barn

Founded: 1632

Location: Dover

Type: Farm

One of the country’s oldest family-run farms until it was sold in 2013, Tuttle’s inspired a popular children’s history book and now continues as a country store celebrating its agricultural past.

New Jersey: Barnsboro Inn

Founded: 1720

Location: Sewell

Type: Restaurant and bar

Originally a hotel and tavern with stables for travelers’ horses, the inn still retains its original cedar log cabin and now focuses on food and beverage service.

New Mexico: El Farol

Founded: 1835

Location: Santa Fe

Type: Restaurant

This enduring Spanish restaurant reflects New Mexico’s long colonial history and inspired a well-known game theory example famously called the “El Farol Bar Problem.”

New York: Saunderskill Farm

Founded: 1680

Location: Accord

Type: Farm and market

Farming the same land for nearly 340 years, the Schoonmaker family operates year-round greenhouses and markets produce, flowers and popular baked goods.

North Carolina: Tavern in Old Salem

Founded: 1784

Location: Winston-Salem

Type: Restaurant

Famous for its simple Moravian chicken pie, the tavern serves a colonial recipe that has been a staple of the region since the restaurant’s founding.

North Dakota: The Bismarck Tribune

Founded: 1873

Location: Bismarck

Type: Newspaper

Notable for early reporting on historic events like Custer’s last stand and a Pulitzer Prize-winning series in the 1930s, The Bismarck Tribune remains an important regional news source.

Ohio: The Golden Lamb

Founded: 1803

Location: Lebanon

Type: Hotel

With a sign originally designed for an illiterate population and a guest list that has included a dozen presidents, The Golden Lamb blends historic charm with dining and lodging in a preserved Shaker-era style.

Oklahoma: BC Clark Jewelers

Founded: 1892

Location: Oklahoma City

Type: Jewelry

Known for a long-running holiday jingle that returns annually, BC Clark is a local fixture that began operating on land that was once Native territory and has become a cultural touchstone.

Oregon: Van Dusen Beverages

Founded: 1849

Location: Astoria

Type: Beverage bottler

Claiming to be the world’s smallest Pepsi bottler, Van Dusen began as a general store and now bottles a wide range of drinks for local distribution.

Pennsylvania: The Rowland Co.

Founded: 1732

Location: Philadelphia

Type: Industrial transmission products

Beginning as a shovel-maker, Rowland evolved into a manufacturer and distributor of industrial power transmission products and played a major role in the local economy for centuries.

Rhode Island: Kenyon’s Grist Mill

Founded: 1696

Location: Usquepaugh

Type: Grain mill

Using an 1880s-era stone grinder, Kenyon’s practices single-pass grinding to retain nutrients in its flours and meals, continuing traditional milling methods for modern customers.

South Carolina: Lakeside Mills

Founded: 1736

Location: Spindale

Type: Grain mill

Owned by the King family since 1929, Lakeside produces Southern-style corn products including cornmeal, grits and specialty mixes used in fried foods and regional recipes.

South Dakota: Norberg Paints

Founded: 1885

Location: Sioux Falls

Type: Paint store

Founded after a fortuitous winter job allowed two painter brothers to buy out their contractor, Norberg Paints grew from that opportunity into a long-standing local business.

Tennessee: Austin and Bell Funeral Home

Founded: 1842

Locations: Multiple

Type: Funeral home

Started by a cabinet maker skilled in coffin-making, this funeral home preserves original artifacts—like the carriage lights from the founder’s hearse—while serving communities across Tennessee.

Texas: Imperial Sugar

Founded: 1843

Location: Sugar Land

Type: Sugar producer

Growing from a regional sugar producer into a national manufacturer and later scaling back, Imperial Sugar left such a mark that the city where it’s based is named after the company.

Utah: The Deseret News

Founded: 1850

Location: Salt Lake City

Type: Newspaper

Founded by church leaders for the early Mormon settlement, The Deseret News remains owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and retains a name tied to the region’s early identity.

Vermont: Fort Ticonderoga Ferry

Founded: 1799

Location: Shoreham

Type: Ferry service

For more than two centuries residents and visitors have used this scenic seven-minute daytime crossing on Lake Champlain, making it the oldest continuously operating ferry in the United States.

Virginia: Shirley Plantation

Founded: 1613

Location: Charles City

Type: Plantation and farm

Shirley Plantation is the nation’s oldest continuously operating business and has been in the Hill family since 1638. It remains a working plantation as well as a historic site and private residence.

Washington: Laird Norton Co.

Founded: 1855

Location: Seattle

Type: Wealth management

Originating as a logging operation, Laird Norton evolved into an investment and wealth management firm run by the family for seven generations.

Washington, D.C.: Old Ebbitt Grill

Founded: 1856

Location: Downtown Washington, D.C.

Type: Restaurant

This Victorian-inspired eatery near the White House draws more than a million visitors a year, is famous for oysters and hosts an annual oyster festival in a storied historic setting.

West Virginia: The Greenbrier

Founded: 1778

Location: Allegheny Mountains

Type: Resort

Billed as “America’s Resort,” The Greenbrier sits on mineral springs and has hosted numerous presidents. The expansive property includes guest rooms, restaurants and shops set on thousands of acres of historic grounds.

Wisconsin: Minhas Craft Brewery

Founded: 1845

Location: Monroe

Type: Alcohol producer

One of the country’s largest breweries, Minhas produces beers and other alcoholic beverages for national private labels and maintains a museum with an extensive beer memorabilia collection.

Wyoming: Miners and Stockmen’s

Founded: 1862

Location: Hartville

Type: Restaurant

Located in a former mining town with a tiny population, this historic steakhouse serves hearty fare, an extensive wine and whiskey list, and carries local ghost stories as part of its Old West charm.