Ridgefield, the Birthplace of U-Haul, is Getting a Company Store

Scheduled for a 2026 grand opening, U-Haul of Ridgefield will offer 850 indoor climate-controlled storage rooms

RIDGEFIELD, Wash., June 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The official "Birthplace of U-Haul" will finally be welcoming its own U-Haul store, eight decades after the Company's first trailers were made in a milk barn on the Carty Family Ranch in Ridgefield.

U-Haul^® will build a modern retail, moving and self-storage center, as well as a warehouse for U-Box^® portable storage containers, on a 5.75-acre lot at 17601 NE Union Road. The property was purchased on May 24.

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Ridgefield is scheduled for a grand opening in 2026.

Plans for the Ridgefield store include a 94,764-square-foot, three-story center featuring 850 indoor climate-controlled self-storage units with high-tech security features at affordable price points. Customers will have access to moving trucks and trailers, boxes and moving supplies, towing equipment and professional hitch installation, U-Box and much more.

Download the U-Haul app or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL.

"Ridgefield locals understand that we started here from our U-Haul birthplace sign at the first roundabout heading into downtown, or from the historic Carty Unit and Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge," stated U-Haul Area District Vice President Dan Flatten, whose territory includes southern Washington.

"But I do get asked a lot why we don't have a center here. I'm thrilled I can now respond that we have one on the way that will be conveniently located right off Interstate 5, minutes from the Clark County Fairgrounds. We look forward to celebrating our roots with a beautiful facility, creating jobs and meeting a basic need for this community – which we call home."

In 1945, U.S. Navy veteran L.S. "Sam" Shoen and wife Anna Mary Carty Shoen came up with the idea for U-Haul while driving up the West Coast. They had just sold many of their personal belongings, unable to rent a one-way trailer for their move from Los Angeles to the Portland area (Ridgefield is a 24-mile drive north of Oregon's largest city). At that time, such an industry did not exist.

William E. "Hap" Carty (1927-2022), one of Ridgefield's favorite sons and the first U-Haul employee, helped his sister and brother-in-law with their upstart company that same year while on leave from the U.S. Army, fabricating trailers on his family's dairy farm.

The process has become a bit more streamlined since then. Today, U-Haul offers do-it-yourself movers access to nearly 372,000 trucks, trailers and towing devices at more than 23,000 rental sites across the U.S. and Canada, empowering families to attain residential mobility at a low cost.

U-Haul has two neighborhood dealers renting equipment in Ridgefield, but its nearest Company-owned facility is U-Haul Storage of Hazel Dell at 8250 NE Hwy. 99 in Vancouver, Wash.

Flatten plans to hire up to 20 Team Members to staff the new store when ready. U-Haul will look to hire locally to promote job growth within the Ridgefield community. U-Haul, honored as a Best for Vets employer by The Military Times, actively recruits veterans and gives them preference in the hiring process. Find U-Haul careers at uhauljobs.com.

About U-HAUL 

Founded in 1945, U-Haul is the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers with more than 23,000 rental locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The U-Haul app makes it easy for customers to use U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 to access trucks anytime through the self-dispatch and -return options on their smartphones with our patented Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to 188,700 trucks, 139,400 trailers and 43,700 towing devices. U-Haul is the third largest self-storage operator in North America with 1,004,000 rentable units and 86.8 million square feet of self-storage space at Company-owned and -managed facilities. U-Haul is the top retailer of propane in the U.S. and the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. Get the U-Haul app from the App Store or Google Play.

Contact: 

Yasmine Esparza
Jeff Lockridge
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 602-263-6194
Website: uhaul.com 

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SOURCE U-Haul