Adirondack Porch Swing

Adirondack Chairs - What You May Not Know

Here's something you probably don't know about the famous Adirondack chair...

After arriving at a final design for his "Westport plank chair," Thomas Lee, the original designer, gave the design to his friend, Harry Bunnell, an unemployed carpenter to help him through the winter months.

Bunnell realized that it would sell well to the residents of Westport, a town in the Adirondacks.

So...being the enterprising entrepreneur that he was, he patented the design without Thomas Lee's knowledge. He called them "Westport Chairs" and made them out of hemlock for the next twenty years!

Extract Of U.S. Patent US794777 A Submitted by Harry Bunnell

"Be it known that I, HARRY C. BUNNELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Westport, in the county of Essex and the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is a chair of the bungalow type adapted for use on porches, lawns, at camps, and also adapted to be converted into an invalids chair.

A further object of the invention is to produce a strong durable chair adapted to withstand rough usage and exposure to the weather." - extracted from US Patent US794777 A

Bunnel's drawings submitted for U.S. Patent
From US Patent US794777 A