In the early 1900's John Edward McGilligan moved to Madison Wisconsin from the family farm in Iowa County to began his furniture career working at the Baily Furniture Co. Jack, as he was known, worked his way throught the ranks until achiving a Vice President position with the company.
In 1917 Jack decided to go out on his own and established "The Furniture Repair Shop" at 435 West Main Street, refinishing, repairing and reupholstering furniture.
Jack, his wife, Frances, and their children John, Jr., William, and Rosemary resided at the West Main address in a four-bedroom home in front of the upholstery shop. As the business continued to grow, a large addition to the workshop was added, and the original building became a storage and warehouse area.
As Jack became well known in the area, he custom designed and built his own furniture growing the business sufficiently to hire and train other craftsmen.
In the Depression years, Jack worked for the City of Madison Street Department during the day, and at night he took care of the furniture business.
In 1943, a year before his death, Jack retired and his oldest son, John Edward Jr., took over the business. Bill McGilligan, who had been living in California, returned to Madison in the late 1940's and joined his brother.
In 1951 the family home on Main street and upholstery facility were sold, and Jack's sons John & Bill moved "the shop" to 5106 University Avenue.
In 1970 John Jr. sold his share of the business to his daughter Buffy Stevens to pursue his lifelong dream of owning a resort in Hayward Wisconsin. John and his wife Ruth lived in Hayward until Johns death in 1976. Following John's death Ruth returned to Madison and rejoined the company and worked until age 77.
Bill stayed with the business until 1975 when he moved to San Clemente California to retire. In San Clemente Bill was was very active with many conservation groups. Bill's devotion to helping people, animals, and the environment got it's roots in his native Wisconsin where he helped to found the Wisconsin Chapter of "Wetlands for Wildlife".
In the late 1970's McGilligan's moved further out University Avenue to Middleton, Wisconsin where they continued to grow by expanding into the commercial market.
McGilligan's Restructured and moved to it's present location in Commerce Park in Fitchburg Wisconsin where they continued to grow.
McGilligan's remains a family business to this day, it is co-owned by John, Jr.'s grandchildren Brad Stevens and Dan Gavigan. The other owner is Bill Weber.