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129 Years of Quality
The year is 1896.
Utah becomes the 45th state in the Union. Athens hosts the first modern Olympic Games. Fannie Farmer publishes her first cookbook. Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna are crowned Emperor and Empress of Russia. Gold is discovered in the Klondike. William McKinley becomes the 25th President of the United States of America.
And here in Fort Worth, Harry Keeton starts making brooms and selling mattress supplies.
It takes a lot for any neighborhood company to stay in business and in the family for 20 or 50 years, much less for 129 years. But that’s precisely what The Mattress Factory has done.
The Mattress Factory, 1931
Two years after he left Tennessee and settled in Fort Worth, Harry Keeton started what would eventually become The Mattress Factory, one of Fort Worth’s oldest businesses. Harry’s sons eventually stopped making brooms and expanded their mattress business from Fort Worth throughout Texas into Oklahoma, Arkansas, Arizona, California, and Florida. The company began shipping all over the world.
Today, Harry Keeton’s great-grandson, Peter Duncan, Jr., and great-great-grandson, Trey, run the company. Trey left his job at a local luxury auto dealer not long ago to help his dad. “We’re a family business,” Peter said. “We’re the fourth and fifth generations here, and we’re proud of that.”
So how does a family-owned company like The Mattress Factory stay in business for 129 years?
Well, if you’re The Mattress Factory, it’s by making mattresses to the customer’s specifications using quality materials in their factory on East Vickery, just around the corner from Harry Keeton’s original factory. It’s with friendly customer service that goes the extra mile. (Seriously, Trey has been known to leave the factory to help a customer put together a bed frame.) It’s by cutting out the middleman and selling mattresses directly to consumers at wholesale prices.
Do you prefer a high-count coil mattress, or would you rather snooze on a foam and latex mattress with a plush gel topper? Does your spouse snore so much that you need an adjustable frame to get a little uninterrupted sleep? Are your little ones clamoring for bunk beds, promising they’ll make their bed every single day without fail? The Mattress Factory has you covered.
“A lot of people now are buying these beds in a box they see online or getting mattresses from Amazon,” Peter said as we talked in the showroom. Mattresses were being made as we spoke, and Chance, the showroom dog, was sleeping on his special mattress. “Sure, [ordering a mattress online] is real easy and quick, but those beds don’t have the quality that lasts. Our customers get a well-made bed that they can watch being made that will last for years. And if you have a question or concern about your bed, all you have to do is call us, and we’ll make it right.”
In addition to selling mattresses, accessories, and frames directly to the public, The Mattress Factory provides mattresses for summer camps, inns, and bed and breakfasts.
Peter’s father, Peter Duncan, Sr., moved from South Africa to Oklahoma to take advantage of the University of Oklahoma’s internationally renowned swimming program. He represented South Africa in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and the 1956 Melbourne Olympics before marrying Harry Keeton’s granddaughter, Doris, and joining the family business.
Harry Keeton’s children and grandchildren
Photo courtesy of Peter Duncan
Peter is proud that he and his son are carrying on the family business in Fort Worth. Their roots are here, and the love they have for their city is evident in everything they do. (In an interesting aside for the family issue of Madeworthy, Peter competed against my older brother-in-law in high school tennis.)
From employing local workers to raising money for Fort Worth nonprofits like The Gladney Center for Adoption – Trey and his sister are both Gladney Kids – the Duncans give back to their city as much as they receive from it. If you want to know the true depth of the Duncans’ love for our fair city, stop by The Mattress Factory showroom and check out the TCU fabric on one of their show mattresses. You, too, can support your team while you sleep. Go Frogs!
When you need a new mattress, let Peter and Trey help you design your perfect mattress while you give Chance scratches. Experience counts, and The Mattress Factory has 129 years of it.
