1927

The first fence installed by Cedar Rustic Fence Co. occured in 1927. This is the same year that Ford began selling it's Model A car for $460.00. The original name of the company was Cedrus. Cedrus is the genus name for Cedar.

1943

Joseph Keefe acquired Cedrus and moved the company to Harvey, Il. At that time the fencing industry was quite different from today. Fencing material was not readily available from mills or distributors. Material was bought directly from loggers. Cedrus then milled the logs and built the fences at their outdoor facility.

 
Joseph Keefe in Harvey, IL unloading a truck of lumber

A tragic fire occured overnight and burned the Cedrus facility to the ground. Fortunately nobody was injured. Joseph picked up and moved what was left of Cedrus to 159th street in Orland Park, where Cedrus became a fixture for almost 50 years.

Cedrus on 159th street in Orland Park, I (circa 1970)

Joseph Keefe passed away leaving Cedrus to his sons. During this time the Cedrus name began to transform into CEDar-RUStic.

CEDar-RUStic Fence Sign (circa 1975)

1976

One of the owners, Gerard Keefe general contracted his own home and constructed the first Cedar Rustic deck. The deck division was officially created soon after.

Cedar Rustic expanded their operations to Plainfield, IL. They acquired an old roller rink on route 30 and 126th street. When buying the facility a structural engineer inspected the building and told the Keefe's, "This building is strong enough to handle a tornado". Three months later a tornado hit and took the building down. Two employees were in the building at the time. Neither one was injured.

A "100-year flood" rolled through Plainfield and washed Cedar Rustic's material down river. After the flood, the City of Plainfield designated the Cedar Rustic property as a flood zone. They did not allow Cedar Rustic to rebuild. Cedar Rustic started looking for another home.

2000

The Keefe's bought an 82,000 square foot warehouse facility in Joliet, IL that would become the new home for Cedar Rustic. The facility was originally built by Kemlite in 1969 and was used to fabricate fiberglass sheeting. Later, the facility was use by Uno to manufacture and distribute Uno playing cards and Othello board games.

The Keefes decided to retire and sold Cedar Rustic Fence Co. to the Bergeron Family. All the operations were consolidated in Joliet. The Orland Park location was sold. Cedar Rustic Fence Co. expended their production capabilities by fabricating their own line of vinyl fences called CR Vinyl. Sales in vinyl fences increase by 6 fold over the next 5 years.

Cedar Rustic Fence Co. gets a make over with a new logo and website.

Cedar Rustic Fence Co. acquires two adjacent buildings in Joliet expanding their production and storage capacity to 86,000 square feet.

Cedar Rustic Fence Co. continues to expand its production capabilities and launches a line of aluminum fences called CR Aluminum.

 2009

Cedar Rustic Fence Co. is honored by Inc. Magazine as one of the 5000 fastest growing small businesses in America.

 Today

Cedar Rustic Fence Co. installs fences and decks in over 154 different townships spread across Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. Cedar Rustic installs more vinyl and cedar fences than anyone in the Chicagoland area.