Beck-Hart Furniture Co was founded on the eve of World War II, with James Beck, Sr and Angus Hart (WWII British Royal Air Force Pilot) sensing the growing market for home furnishings as veterans returned from overseas to put down roots and grow families. 

Mr. Beck and Mr. Hart set up their business on the ground floor of the Shannon Building, which was built in 1920 as a Cotton Warehouse, with storage on the ground floor and brokerage offices upstairs. During the early years of the business, the upstairs was occupied by a Doctors office and a Lawyers office. When the local high school burned down, classes were even held upstairs while the new school building was built!

Mr. Hart left the partnership to pursue his calling in the Southern Baptist ministry (he later baptized the current owner!) and Mr. Beck continued peddling furniture via truck routes all around Middle Georgia. He developed a health condition, and a Doctor told him he needed to get out of that truck to get well. With that, he transitioned the business to a retail hardware storefront. 

Mr. and Mrs. Beck grew the business and became a community staple. They enjoyed and participated the
unprecedented growth in American population and prosperity during this time in our nation’s history.

James Beck, Jr joined the business full time and the name was changed to J.E. Beck and Son. 

A second location was added in neighboring Gordon, GA, with James Sr managing that and James Jr managing the Jeffersonville location as both communities grew. Don’t you know there was some friendly father-son competition for sales in those days!

As a teenager, the current owner, Ben Huffman, worked for the business as a cashier, lumberyard cleaner, floor sweeper, delivery boy, rat killer, and he learned a lot from the Becks about customer service, hardware, and hard work.

After serving in the military and participating in the war on terror, Ben (Navy) and his brother and law, Justin Brown (Army) purchased the Jeffersonville location from Mr. Beck and renamed it Jeffersonville Hardware.

Justin managed the business day to day and drove substantial growth and a return to prominence in the community. Under his leadership, the store once again started carrying lumber, building supplies, and feed/seed.

Ben purchased Justin’s interest in the business and took over company management. Under Ben’s leadership, the lumber business has expanded including the addition of exotic lumber, feed and seed business has expanded, a custom woodworking shop has been added and a lumber shed is under construction. Additionally, Ben completed the purchase of the Gordon location in 2022, renaming it Gordon Hardware.