Our story is one of family

Frank “The Chief” Corrigan came to Dearborn, Michigan, in 1923, lured by the $5 daily pay promised by Ford Motor Company. At Ford, Frank worked nights on the Ford farms doing a variety of different jobs – sometimes even chauffeuring Henry Ford himself. The Chief was motivated, and in the daytime when he was not working at Ford he sustained an ice delivery company with his brother. After the Great Depression hit, Frank operated his trucks to help families forced from their houses move their possessions.

And thus, Corrigan Moving Systems was born.

World War II gave rise to a new concern to Frank and Corrigan Moving due to the struggle hiring help during the war years. Frank’s eldest son, Paul Corrigan, was ordered back from the Air Force in 1945 to assist the family and the family company. Paul had ambitions of attending a university. Instead, he took over the moving company, putting himself through what he called the “school of hard knocks”.

Paul was a respected leader, and through his guidance Corrigan began to grow. In 1949, Corrigan joined United Van Lines because the idea of partnering with an agency-owned van line interested Paul. The cooperative ownership structure provides family-owned companies, like Corrigan, management over the strategy of the van line.

Over the following 40 years, the Corrigan family grew in parallel with the business. Paul married Kathleen O’Hehir in 1954 and together they raised six kids. As they grew up, all six of the children worked at Corrigan in some regard, either on the trucks or in the office.

In 1969 Corrigan opened its second warehouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan and operated as a two-office business for the following 15 years. Starting in 1984, it kicked off a quick eight-year expansion and investment phase. New locations were started in Auburn Hills, Toledo, Flint, Bay City and Grand Rapids. In 1987, Corrigan bought a new location in Farmington Hills and transferred their home office from the Dearborn office.

In 1995, Paul’s sons took over the executive positions at the moving company.

Corrigan Moving has always been open to growth possibilities that would help increase the quality and solution offerings. Two top-tier opportunities became available to David Corrigan, and so, in 2003, a branch was added in Rochester, New York. A Chicago, Illinois warehouse was added in 2006. These were the first Corrigan locations established in each of these states. Additional expansion brought a warehouse in Cleveland, Ohio; and in 2018, a location was opened in Buffalo, New York. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania office joined in 2022.

As Corrigan has grown, it has also expanded its offerings. No longer hauling ice, Corrigan now offers a wide range of solutions including household goods relocation, commercial and workplace relocations, record storage, systems furniture assembly and disassembly, logistics, and international freight forwarding.

Today, the Corrigan employees continue to honor Frank’s founding code of ethics. And because of that, we have expanded into one of the most distinguished moving company in the nation.