History

Back in 1835, when Leonard Shearer founded Paine Furniture Company, Boston was a city of just 75,00 people, Andrew Jackson was President and Texas was still part of Mexico. Today, the seventh and eighth generations of Shearer’s are continuing the family tradition of fine furniture with the opening of Paine’s Patio and Nautical & Nice. Through all these years of growth and change, Paine’s has strived to remain the most reliable source of top quality furniture.

Leonard Shearer was a 27-year old cabinet maker when he opened his first shop on Blackstone Street. Even at that young age, he was known not only for his skill as a craftsman, but also for his commercial savvy. At that time, the country was in an immense boom, hundreds of new Americans were arriving in Boston settling homes and needing furnishings.

The business grew and in 1843, Mr. Shearer was happy to find a 22-year- old apprentice named John S. Paine. A man who proved he could both craft furniture and drive a team of horses for deliveries. In 1852, John Paine’s younger brother George jointed the company, as did Leonard Shearer’s younger brother Daniel. Two year later, the families themselves were joined when John Paine married Eliza Shearer, sister of Leonard, and the two men became partners in the firm Shearer & Paine.

In 1872, Daniel Shearer and John Paine built the first block-size Paine store on Canal Street in Boston. This was to be the home of Paine Furniture for the next 44 years, during which time the company greatly expanded its manufacturing activities. After five decades, even this building proved too small for the growing Paine operation. So in 1914, the store moved to a stunning new ten-story showroom and manufactory on Arlington Street in Park Square. Like the furniture Paine’s sold, this new building was beautiful, impressive and unique- a place Bostonians enjoyed visiting for over 75 years.

Today, you can find the same reliable quality Paine’s has always stood for at our showroom, 674 MacArthur Boulevard, Route 28, Pocasset, Massachusetts. On Cape Cod, just 3 miles South of the Bourne Bridge.