This paper will examine cabinetmakingin upstate New York using primary research on a newly discovered nineteenth-century cabinetmaker. I will provide a biographical sketch of the Poughkeepsie, New York cabinetmaker Charles Warner in the sociological and chronological context in which he worked. The necessary background material will be provided to define Poughkeepsie geographically, politically, and economically in the first half of the nineteenth century. The development of new routes of transportation and trade will be discussed. Insights into the economic development within the region that encouraged the production of furniture and objects to be marketed to an emerging middle class will be outlined. During the discussion, it will be suggested that an expanding economic climate, new modes of river transportation, and an increasing availability of a skilled workforce had developed in Poughkeepsie. This development was substantial enough to support the trade of fine cabinetmaking, and allowed a newly emerging middle class to emulate the styles and tastes favored in more urban settings.