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Happy Sleeper spent its formative
​years hanging out at 394 S. Lake Avenue

​In 1905 former New York Native Charles DeWitt teamed up with Henry Seitz, who had 15 years experience at the Webster Chair Company across the bay in Superior. The two formed the DeWitt-Seitz Company, manufacturers of furniture and mattresses.

​Construction of a new production facility (see line drawing) began in early 1908 on what is now called Canal Park Drive. In the 1920s the company marketed its beds under the name San-O-Made.

In 1961 the Happy Sleeper Mattress Factory was located on the first floor.

​In the mid-1920s, the Duluth News Tribune called DeWitt-Seitz "one of Duluth's busiest and most profitable industries. Including salesmen, it employs a total of 60 persons in its big, modern nine story building."

In 1938 it produced one of the first mattresses with internal springs, patented under the name Taperease. During the Great Depression, the company phased out furniture to focus entirely on mattress manufacturing.
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With the end of WWII came increased competition in the local market from national mattress brands who took advantage of the emerging mass media. In 1961 Duluthian Sam Atkins purchased the DeWitt-Seitz mattress factory along with the Lake Avenue Building. Then he turned the reins over to his son, Henry "Happy" Atkins. Hence, the new name - Happy Sleeper.

"Hap" Atkins believed that his small company could survive and prosper despite the encroachment of national brands and furniture chains. The secret was to stay nimble. Give people more mattress for their money, back every bed with a 100% full warranty and never take a backseat to anyone when it came to customer service.

Our oldest photo of the mattress factory circa 1907

At that time most medium-sized cities had a small local mattress factory. Many of whom were looking to sell. So Happy began acquiring these businesses.

Before the Great Depression trucks crisscrossed the Upper Midwest delivering San-O-Made Mattresses

By 1980 there were 14 Happy Sleeper mattress factory showrooms spread over five states.

Exactly one hundred years after the founding of DeWitt-Seitz Company, Happy Sleeper offered local store managers the opportunity to purchase their individual store. Now the situation had come full circle. We are once again Duluth's one and only mattress company - still locally owned - just like we were back in 1905.