The railroad reached Bergen in 1836 and an area was built out around the intersection of Lake Road (Route 19) and the railroad for businesses and houses. The Village of Bergen was incorporated in 1877. With the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad running through the village, a mini transportation and economic hub was formed.
To the north of the tracks, a large three story building was erected in 1879. Known as Pratt & McPherson Grain and Coal, it was first owned by Pratt & McPherson. A few years later, McPherson purchased Pratt's 50% and it became known as McPherson and Son. Then in 1898, the business was purchased by Francis & Elisha Miller. It continued to serve the area as a successful grain and coal business until 1902 when Holden C. Miller (son of Francis) and E.S. Miller acting as supervisors added beans, potatoes, fruit, hay, and lumber to their inventory. Beans were a very profitable crop for Miller Bros. The crop was harvested in the fall and cleaned during the winter by local women in the community. Farmers then transported the crop by horse and wagon to the mill for shipment. An auger located in the basement moved the crop upwards through an elevator shaft which then filled large containers that were fitted directly onto rail cars. This made it possible to ship the crop across the country with ease. This was a very sophisticated system for the time. However, as the processing advanced with new technology and food safety regulations stiffened, the mill became obsolete. The Millers ran the business until 1972, when Holden C. Miller Jr decided to retire and the business closed.
The building remained unoccupied until 1979, when it was then sold and reopened as a cooperative antique store which operated through the early 1990's. The century old building would not operate in a manufacturing capacity until again until 2000.
The rail line still runs through Bergen today and is the central line for CSX, moving freight and passengers from Buffalo to Albany and beyond. To the north of the tracks, a large three story building stands today as Miller’s Millworks.
Barry Miller, co-owner of Millers Millworks, Inc., graduated from Genesee Community College (GCC) in the inaugural computer repair technician degree program in 1986. He went on to complete a Human Resources Management degree at Roberts Wesleyan College and was hired by Toshiba Business Solutions to work with their lineup of office and audio visual (AV) equipment.
Working with AV equipment, Miller noticed that there was no custom furniture to hold the equipment, and allow it to blend into a professional atmosphere. Miller formed an interest in creating this kind of furniture. He began working in his basement on custom wood furniture geared towards professional AV equipment users as well as general items including cabinets, tables, and chairs. His first major manufacturing contract was award by the Monroe County BOCES in 1997. Miller built large cabinets that would hold three 37” box style televisions that were used in an innovative distance learning program deployed at 57 school districts.
After completing his first major project in Monroe County, other school districts contracted with Miller to provide presentation furniture. As more and more contracts rolled in, Miller’s basement was completely occupied with furniture and woodworking equipment. He decided to move out of the office solutions business with Toshiba and focus entirely on building his own enterprise. In August of 2000 Miller moved into the old mill to the north of the railroad tracks in the Village of Bergen and began renovating the structure.
In 2002 Miller secured a business partner, Greg Lumb, to handle all of the sales and marketing aspects of the business while Miller remained in charge of production. By 2003 there were seven employees working full time at the shop and the number continued to grow as the business became successful.
In 2007 misfortune struck the millworks when a fire broke out consuming much of the usable space in the building. Ironically, at the time of the incident Miller was an Assistant Fire Chief of the Bergen Volunteer Fire Company. It took over four hours to contain the blaze to a point where trains could safely pass though Bergen.
Despite the fire, orders were still pouring in and Miller used any and all space available to keep up. The Village of Bergen as well as other local companies allowed Miller use their space for manufacturing and painting of the furniture as well as for office space on a temporary basis. Just five months later a new building was erected, opened on the same footprint as the former mill, and business continued near the rail in Bergen.
Today Millers Millworks, Inc. creates custom crafted presentation furniture that is used in corporate board rooms, auditoriums, conference rooms, and class rooms. Miller’s specializes in lecterns, podiums, credenzas, conference tables, teaching stations, and multi-media consoles. Over 65% of Miller’s products are delivered to clients in the higher education industry including MIT, Harvard, Cornell, Temple, Yale, and Boston University. Other major contracts that have been filled by Miller include the United States Department of State, the United States Military, the Federal Reserve, General Electric, Walt Disney, Lockheed Martin, and British Airways. Twenty-one employees work for the company today and that number continues to grow.
Miller and his business embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that America was formed upon.