Henry Pilcher, Sr. was born in Canterbury, England and apprenticed as an organ builder in London. In 1832 he arrived in New York and established his business in Newark, New Jersey. His sons, Henry Pilcher, Jr. and William Pilcher II opened an organ building shop in St. Louis, Missouri in 1852. During the Civil War era, the firm relocated to Chicago, Illinois. This factory survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and, in 1874, the Pilcher firm once again moved and opened their business in Louisville, Kentucky. The firm built over 1,800 organs for churches, concert halls, and universities across the country. In 1944 the factory closed and the assets were sold to the M. P. Möller Organ Company of Hagerstown, Maryland.