02 Apr
In 2015, Herlihy Moving & Storage celebrates 95 years as a leader in residential and corporate moving and storage for central and southern Ohio. Established in 1920 by John Herlihy, Sr., we’re a third-generation family business with deep roots in Chillicothe, Columbus, and Athens, Ohio.
In 1921, Herlihy Moving rented space from a small tire store on East Main Street in Chillicothe. After taking over the tire store, John changed the name of the company to Herlihy Tire & Transportation, selling B. F. Goodrich tires and Shell gasoline.
John Herlihy, Sr. married Myrtle Griesheimer in 1922. They soon had three children – Martha Jean, John, Jr., and Judy. By the age of 9, John Jr. began helping his father by pumping gas and cleaning windshields. He began working on company trucks after receiving his driver’s license at age 13.
The next big step for the business was becoming an authorized agent for Mayflower Transit in 1933 – just six years after Mayflower become the nation’s first Interstate Commerce Commission carrier. Today, we have the distinction of being the oldest family owned and operated Mayflower agent in the country.
John Herlihy, Sr. passed away in 1948 at the age of 52, just three days after John Jr. graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. At the time, Herlihy Moving & Storage was a small business struggling to recover from the Depression and the impact of World War II. John Jr. took a year’s leave of absence from the Navy to get the business back on its feet. He arranged a line of credit and hired his brother-in-law to take over the day-to-day management of the business while he served his country.
John Jr. returned from Navy service in 1954. He met Barbara Stark at St. Peter’s Church during his first Sunday home, and they married three months later in January 1955. Over the next 16 years, the couple welcomed eight children – Christie, Mary, John III, Joseph, Barbara, Jean, James, and David. All of them grew up working in the family business – the girls in the office and the boys on the trucks.
As the family grew, so did the business. Herlihy Mayflower invested in a new office, warehouse and mini-storage space on Marietta Road, Plyleys Lane, and Watt Street in Chillicothe. We also expanded our fleet of trucks and equipment and increased our service footprint throughout south central Ohio. John Jr. was deeply involved with the local business community. He served several terms on the Chillicothe City Council and as Chamber Chairman of the Board of the Chillicothe Ross County Chamber of Commerce in 1966.
The third generation of the family got involved in Herlihy Moving & Storage upon Joseph D. Herlihy’s resignation from the Navy in 1994. Within a year of his return, the company expanded into Columbus, Ohio. That same year, James Herlihy joined the business full-time, running the Columbus operation.
John Jr. retired in 1998. He and Barbara have 26 grandchildren and still live in Chillicothe.
The company has more than tripled in size under the leadership of President Joe Herlihy and Vice President James Herlihy, who have continually invested in new equipment, real estate and new lines of business. Joe Herlihy has continued the family tradition of community service by serving on the Chillicothe City Council.
Today, Herlihy Moving & Storage manages over 190,000 SF of storage related business, serving nearly 500 mini-storage customers. We operate in three primary sales territories—Greater Columbus, Athens, and southeastern Ohio—and market our services in 37 counties covering more than a third of Ohio.
The fourth generation of Herlihy children is now getting old enough to wash windows and work on the trucks during the summer. Joe & Jen Herlihy and their five sons Craig, John C., Joseph O., Michael and Isaac live in Chillicothe. James and Kim Herlihy live in Grandview Heights, Ohio with their four children: John W., Maggie, and identical twin girls Molly and Mary.
We are proud of our Ohio roots and expect Herlihy Moving & Storage to continue growing under family leadership throughout the 21st century.
