The Crawford Barn at the Longaberger Homestead

The Longaberger Company

Longaberger is a family tradition that has become synonymous with quality products and quality service. In 1896, when the Longaberger family first moved to Dresden, the small village was very prosperous as a rural transportation and industrial hub in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains: a hotel on Main Street, 3 railroad stations, a woolen mill and a paper mill made up the core of Dresden. Before that, a side-cut canal connected the community with the historic Ohio and Erie Canal, giving these manufacturers access to the entire world, transforming the village into a bustling canal town.

Today, baskets are more decorative than functional, although they still do what they were designed to do. At the beginning of the 20th Century, baskets were more functional in day-to-day living. The Dresden Basket Factory created these functional baskets used mostly in the pottery industry that had become established in the area. This was where J.W. Longaberger first started working as an apprentice. He learned all the intricacies of basket making. One of the techniques he learned was the precise, tight weave styling that became the trademark of the Longaberger baskets we cherish today.

J.W. married Bonnie Jean Gist in 1927, however, soon after that America entered the Great Depression starting in 1929. Like many mills and factories across the country, the Dresden Basket Factory was forced to close. J.W. was lucky in that he found one of the few jobs still around in a paper mill.

Longaberger Heritage Days at the Longaberger Homestead

The Longaberger Homestead is really a park that features the original Longaberger home, the 1890 Crawford Barn that was moved to the site in the late 1990s, and a mall that all feature the Longaberger brand. Each year the Homestead puts on a show that puts everything on display for visitors to sample as well as the heritage of the area.

Usually held the first weekend after Labor Day is the Longaberger Heritage Days held at the Longaberger Homestead just outside Frazeyburg. Visitors can watch weaver make baskets (even learn to weave yourself for a fee).

Also offered are basket-making tours of the famous Longaberger factory.