Arlington Coal & Lumber Company History

Arlington Coal & Lumber Company has been selling lumber to professional contractors and homebuilders for almost 90 years.

In 1914 the Arlington Coal Company was founded at 41 Park Avenue in Arlington Massachusetts. The Arlington Coal Company was a dealer of coal, lumber, hay, straw, lime, and cement. The operation was a coal distributor serving the high demand for coal in the early twentieth century. Shipments of coal would arrive by The Boston & Maine Railroad, offloading into the large coal shoots. The Minuteman Bike Path now covers the tracks, but many customers still come in with stories of sliding down the massive shoots as children. The coal shoots were destroyed in the massive fire of 1951.

The main office building of Arlington Coal Company was built ca. 1875, and has played many roles in the town’s history. At one time, it was an important civic center for the town. Its second floor auditorium, Union Hall, was one of several such meeting facilities around town, and served many purposes. It was the site of religious services while various Protestant denominations waited for their churches to be built: dancing classes and dramatic productions were held there; the Arlington Zouaves, a quasi-military marching society, met in the hall, and in 1885 it was even used for roller skating. The first floor, then and now, was used for commercial purposes, and the building once houses the Arlington Heights branch of the public library.

New owners purchased Arlington Coal Company in 1929, and immediately changed the name to incorporate the new focus on lumber and building materials. Arlington Coal Company became Arlington Coal & Lumber Company on April 16, 1929.
This focus on lumber and building continues today under the ownership of the McNamara family. The McNamara family purchase Arlington Coal and Lumber Company in 1959. Adding Wilmington Builders Supply Company in 1981 and in 1991 the McNamara’s purchased the Mullen Lumber Company in Sudbury, MA. The Mullen family had operated the Mullen Lumber Company for fifty years. Mullen Lumber was a perfect fit into the business model of Arlington Coal and Lumber, almost mimicking the quality products and the level of services adhered to by Arlington Coal & Lumber. After the sale the name was changed to Sudbury Lumber Company.

After renovating the main office, and painting the trucks Arlington Coal Yellow, the addition of Sudbury Lumber enhanced the best quality products, buoyed by some of the most competent and knowledgeable lumbermen in the industry. The seven salespeople at Sudbury Lumber Company have over 140 years experience, that’s twenty years each. It is rare to come by such expertise every day.

After 73 years of selling lumber and building materials for professional contractors and homebuilders, Arlington Coal & Lumber Company is the best place to shop for all you quality lumber products, backed with quality service the industry has to offer.