History
Silas "Pop-Pop" Dukes was born in 1909 and grew up near Laurel, Delaware. As a young man he worked as a farmer during the growing season and built chicken houses and agricultural buildings in the winter months. He founded The Oak Orchard Community Church in 1963 where he preached as a laymen minister for over 30 years. Also in 1962, Silas and his two sons, Ross and Dale decided to open a retail lumber store near Laurel, Delaware to meet the needs of the community. In 1972 they expanded and built another site in Seaford known as Dukes Lumber and Home Center.
By 1978 Silas had retired from the business and continued preaching for several years. Then in 1996 Silas passed away and in 1998, Ross retired leaving Dale and his two sons Rusty and Scott to operate the two locations. Today, the two store regional operation employ over 50 people. Things have changed over the years but Pop-Pop's philosophy of "treat each customer like you would want to be treated" has remained. The Christian principles upon which the business was founded upon are the reason for Dukes' success.
