Crystal Wise
Peter Duncan Jr. has been at the helm of The Mattress Factory for more than 40 years, following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather.
Well, the iconic 110-year-old Haltom’s Jewelers clock, the loyal timekeeper that has witnessed generations come and go, has been removed after a full life well spent at three downtown locations, most recently at Main and Third streets.
The stories it could tell in retirement, which will be spent at a location to be determined by Streams and Valleys, the nonprofit that has been bequeathed the 21/2-ton iron artifact that first arrived, according to Historic Fort Worth, in 1914 for installation at 614 Main St.
As the nonprofit notes, “it is a memento from an earlier era when sidewalk clocks were a gracious and civic minded form of advertising.”
And there is, of course, all that it represents, namely the small family business and its timeless impact on its community.
With the official closing of Haltom’s in January, The Mattress Factory moved up a slot in the line of oldest family-owned businesses in Fort Worth.
Founded in 1896 — the year William McKinley won his first term as president — The Mattress Factory will be celebrating 129 years in 2025. If you’re keeping count, The Mattress Factory has lived through 23 U.S. presidents.
And counting.
“I pray that it will be,” says CEO Peter Duncan, the great-grandson of company founder Harry Keaton Sr., when asked if The Mattress Factory will be around in 2125.
Pendery’s is believed to be the oldest family-owned business — sprouting in 1870 — still operating in town, and it’s still in the family. Although founded just west of here in 1879, the three sons of H.J. Justin got here as soon as they could in 1918. Acme Brick, now a member of the Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway family, began selling bricks in 1891. It moved to Fort Worth about 10 years later. Law firm Decker Jones is another 1896 model. Cantey Hanger and Freese and Nichols were birthed in 1882 and 1894. (This is not intended to be a comprehensive list. There are others.)
A newspaper ad in 1905 declared: “A Sweeping Assertion but true. Harry Keeton, proprietor of Fort Worth Broom Factory, makes brooms that cannot be beaten. Ask your grocer for them.”
Keeton had come to Fort Worth from Tennessee in 1894.
Keeton’s family-owned outfit expanded to upholstery and then mattress supplies in the 1930s, with the entire brood of eight children working there at one point in time. One of those was son J. Frank Keeton, named for the stalwart Southern Baptist Fort Worth firebrand, J. Frank Norris, as well known for stirring controversy as he was stirring the fires of faith. Frank Keeton served on the Fort Worth City Council, including a term as mayor pro tempore.
Crystal Wise
Trey, left, and Peter Duncan Jr.
Frank Keeton and Harry Keeton Jr. would expand the business throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Florida. Keeton Jr. began building spring air mattresses in Oklahoma City and West Texas in the 1950s. Another son of Harry Keeton Sr., Benjamin Keeton, was a Fort Worth fireman who was killed in the line of duty at age 24 in 1929. The young Keeton was thrown from a truck while his company was answering a call.
As CEO, a position he has held for 40 years, Peter Duncan Jr. oversees the operation of The Mattress Factory today, 128 years after his great-grandfather began selling brooms in 1896. Duncan and his wife’s son, Trey, is head of sales and shipping. So, another generation of Mattress Factory under the family umbrella appears to be a go.
“He loves it,” Duncan said of Trey. “He's real customer oriented. He goes that extra mile. If you called him and said, ‘Hey, I can't figure my bed frame out,’ a lot of guys will say, ‘go to YouTube and figure it out.’ He'd say, ‘Well, you're only a couple miles. I'll come over there and help you.’ He just does stuff like that.”
Duncan innovated the business by selling his products directly to the consumer at wholesale prices, creating a great demand for his products.
The Mattress Factory produces between 8,000-10,000 pieces each year, Duncan says.
The plant is at 900 E. Vickery Blvd.
The company ships all over the country and into Canada. It is a major supplier for camps, like Camp Longhorn in Burnet. Bed and breakfasts, model homes, and interior designers are all notable clients.
“Everybody has to sleep,” he reminds.
Duncan’s father, Peter Duncan Sr. — who married Harry Keeton Jr.’s daughter, Doris — also was a member of the family business. Before entering the family business, Duncan Sr. was a two-time Olympic swimmer for the South African national team. Duncan Sr. swam in the 1952 and 1956 Olympics in Helsinki and Melbourne. He was also a three-time All-American at Oklahoma.
Harry Keeton Jr. was born in 1907. He earned a degree in 1930 from Texas A&M where he was the captain of the basketball team. Keeton Jr. died in 1997 at age 90.
More recently a new member of the family was brought in.
His name is Chance, a mixed-breed canine whom Duncan rescued out of the company’s trash dumpster last year. Somebody dumped the poor little guy. Chance — as in, second chance — is fat and happy as the shop dog.
“All the customers love him,” Duncan said.
Chance earns his keep. He followed my truck in the parking lot and led me right to the door.
Chance is clearly as happy about The Mattress Factory’s going-on 129 years as anybody else.
