September 10, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 144 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S5390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    200TH ANNIVERSARY OF F.O. BAILEY

  Ms. COLLINS. Madam Speaker, in 1819, young Henry Bailey opened a 
general store on Ingraham's Wharf in Portland, ME, and began auctioning 
salvaged goods. Two hundred years later, the F.O. Bailey Company is 
still going strong, and I am delighted to congratulate this outstanding 
Maine business on its bicentennial anniversary.
  The company was purchased in 2014 by the husband and wife team of 
real-estate broker David Jones and antiques professional Nancy McInnis-
Jones, who continue the two-century tradition of integrity, expertise, 
and experience.
  Founded 1 year before Maine achieved statehood, F.O. Bailey 
exemplifies the traditions of entrepreneurship, innovation, and hard 
work that define our State. In 1827, the Bailey Company diversified by 
manufacturing rolltop desks and display cabinets and moved to a larger 
facility on Exchange Street. Despite national and local economic ups 
and downs and the disruption of the Civil War, the auctioneering 
business was a solid foundation for growth.
  In 1866, the booming city of Portland was devastated by the Great 
Fire, the worst urban fire in America to that date. Among the many 
impressive buildings destroyed by that catastrophe was the Bailey 
store.
  Henry Bailey died the following year, and the company was carried on 
by his son, Frederick Orville Bailey. As Portland rose from the ashes 
with a new downtown of brick, stone, and cast iron, F.O. Bailey led the 
family business into a new era of growth.
  Today, under the leadership of David and Nancy, F.O. Bailey's real 
estate and antiques and auction divisions provide 38 good jobs. It is 
significant that, in addition to antiques, the company promotes 
contemporary Maine art and quality handcrafted furniture.
  The F.O. Bailey Company was founded when Maine was just coming into 
its own. The optimism and confidence of that time continue today, and I 
wish this remarkable company great success in the years to come.

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