Keeping the traditions of a town and a family alive.
The historic brick store on Lower Corner in Sandwich, NH. The eventual Hansen family home and Parker’s first “home renovation” at age 11.
“Several years before the start of the American Revolution, the first Sandwich settlers arrived at what became known as Lower Corner. There they established homes and enterprises to support the growing population. In 1845, William Weed built the brick building at the main intersection of Lower Corner. He opened a general store and Post Office on the first floor and his law office and occasional courthouse on the second floor. The general store closed in the early 1970's and the Post Office several years later. Today, the "brick store" edifice serves as a reminder of the past flourishing community and the renewed enterprise of the businesses housed within.”
-Carl Howe Hansen, local author & cabinet maker
Parker Hansen has always had woodworking in his blood. The son of a cabinet maker, he spent his early years assisting his family in various renovation projects on their 150-year-old brick home. Whether it was simply holding a flashlight for his father or pulling nails to recycle wainscoting, Parker learned early the value of hard work. After attending the University of Vermont, he “spread his wings” and moved to Portland, Maine where he began working at Pond Cove Millworks. While working at Pond Cove, Parker attended Southern Maine Community College for Architectural and Engineering Design, where he focused on Computer Aided Design (CAD) & Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM).
This new-found knowledge was applied directly to Pond Cove’s newly purchased Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine. The CNC process allows operators to program and cut out materials to meet precise specifications with the help of coded instructions. At Pond Cove, their CNC machine was used to cut out cabinets with minimal human error or material waste. Over the next three years, Parker moved his way up from CNC operator to production supervisor at one of the largest architectural millwork companies in New England.
Something was missing though. There was an urge to return to his roots, which was pulling Parker back to his home in Sandwich, NH. A town full of “carpenters & yoga instructors”, Sandwich had always had a rich history of hardworking craftsmen and women, but it was also an aging population. Parker saw moving home and starting a woodworking business as an opportunity to continue the entrepreneurial traditions of both his hometown and his family. In 2020, Lower Corner Millworks began, providing quality cabinets, furniture, signs and wooden crafts throughout Central New Hampshire and beyond.