Carhart Lumber started in Wayne, NE in 1921 by brothers Charles E. Carhart and Arthur Benjamin Carhart. The company is still family owned and operated by Scott & Brenda Carhart, 4th generation owners. This year, Carhart Lumber is Celebrating 100 years of business with each of their 9 locations across Nebraska- Norfolk, Wayne, Hartington, Bloomfield, Tilden, Neligh, Burwell, O’Neill and North Platte. Subdivisions- Carhart Kitchen & Bath in Pierce, Carhart Interior Designs and Carhart Insulation.

   The Carhart family purchased Baker and Graham Lumber Yard on Center Street in Tilden, Nebraska in January 1955. Previous to Baker & Graham, the property was owned by Howard & Wilber James/ James Allis- Chalmers Agency.

   Lee Kohl worked as the first manager for Carhart Lumber. In 1958, Carhart purchased Skriven Lumber Co. directly across the street, previously owned by Eichelberger Coal and Lumber Co. At that time, Lee Kohl returned to farming and Carhart Lumbers General Manager, Roy Christensen hired Lyle Herbolsheimer to take over. Lyle had been employed at Carhart Lumber in Pierce, NE since 1951.

   Lyle’s wife Marjorie worked as bookkeeper for many years. His son Mike Herbolsheimer started working at Carhart when he was in high school, helping in the yard and became a full-time employee on July 1, 1973. He took over the manager role of Carhart in Tilden in 1992 from his father and then became Vice President of Operations in 2010. Additional employees who contributed to the success of Carhart Lumber in Tilden over the years, were Wayne Jackson, Roger Stuckwisch and BJ Jensen. Tom Zwingman joined the Carhart team in 2004 and was promoted to manager when Mike Herbolsheimer accepted the VP of Operations position. Today’s staff includes Tom Zwingman- Manager, Chris Preusker & Matt Miller.

   Carhart Lumber in Tilden resides in two different counties. The line down the middle of Center Street divides Madison County and Antelope County and Carhart owns property of both sides of the street. The main office and showroom are in Madison County and one of the storage warehouses across from it is in Antelope County.

   The business has seen many structural and cosmetic renovations over the years. In April 1978, the Skrivan Lumber Yard buildings on the west side of Center Street were torn down and the Cuckler Steel building was built to use as warehouse space. (Still used today.) In 1980, Carhart was transformed from a sales office to a hardware store. In 1996, the exterior was updated to represent the partnership with Do It Best as a ‘Do-It Center’. 2011 renovations commenced to create a home improvement showroom, giving customers the ability to see and touch actual products and displays. In 2015, the building to the East of the Tilden fire hall was purchased from Rutjens Construction for additional material storage. Whether you want to draft & design your forever home, add on, or simply remodel your kitchen, you can do it all at Carhart Lumber; so “Continuous updates and new product displays are necessary to keep up with the ever-changing trends. Another update to our showroom is just around the corner.” Said Tom Zwingman, store manager.

   Lumber yards in general have been a solid component in the community as history has shown and Carhart Lumber would like to humbly thank the customers from Tilden and surrounding communities for their years of patronage. We hope to continue to be the areas trusted source for quality building/ home improvement materials and expert advice for years to come.