Block Brothers History
Ben and his younger brother Zach grew up in the family business Block Brothers Lumber—a small custom sawmill their parents founded in 1980 in Epping, New Hampshire. Ben and Zach’s parents named the mill with their future sons in mind. Now, decades later, that name lives on—carried forward by Ben and Zach in a new chapter of the family business— one that didn’t begin until after their Pop was gone.
From the beginning, the brothers were immersed in the rhythm of the mill—watching trees become logs, logs become lumber, and lumber become homes. Their parents worked side by side, with their mom as the mill’s “pilot,” piling slabs, stacking boards, and rolling logs—all while gently pushing each of her boys in a swing strung up beside her.
In 1992, the family made the move north to Monroe, Maine. They cut the trees. They sawed the lumber. They built the house. Today, the legacy of the original Block Brothers Lumber endures in thousands upon thousands of board feet found in homes and barns throughout New Hampshire and Maine. And at the current shop, the story continues—still grounded in family, still building with care, using some of their Pop’s old tools to this day, and still carrying forward a name that was always meant to be shared.
At the family sawmill, Ben & Zach gained an early appreciation for the materials they work with today.
In 1992, Ben and Zach's parents moved the family and sawmill from Epping, New Hampshire to Monroe, cleared land, and began building a post-and-beam house of their own design.
The brothers grew up listening to the hum of the sawmill.
They cut the trees. They sawed the lumber. They built the house.
52" saw blade and Block Brothers, circa 1986.
Zach helps notch mortises in the pine beams.
Ben, age 8, hammers pine sheathing onto the north wall of his family’s Monroe home.
Ben on the forks of the tractor at the mill in Epping, age four
Zach in the well-loved swing at the sawmill.
Zach helping Pop sharpen teeth between logs.
An early appreciation for woodworking.
Still grounded in family, still building with care
Henry, Ben, Andrew, & Zach: Two generations of Block Brothers.