Every company has an origin story. Ours was fueled by big questions, long days, and a strong belief that work could be both meaningful and joyful. These are the moments that shaped us, as told by our founder, John Abrams:

Mitchel Posin and I started South Mountain as a cabinetmaking and woodworking shop in New City, New York. We didn’t look beyond the nearest street sign for a name.

My folks asked us to design and build a house for them on Martha’s Vineyard. They were under the false impression we were actually capable of this, and no one corrected them. So, we packed our 1951 International flatbed with tools and supplies, booked a one-way ferry ticket, and got to work. We planned to stay for six months. A year later, we were still at it—finishing a finely crafted timber-frame home, complete with handmade doors, windows, cabinetry, and built-ins.

As we were wrapping up that first project, a second and third landed in our laps. We decided to stay—and grew the team. Steve Sinnett, Heikki Soikkeli, and Pete Ives were hired in quick succession. My wife, Chris, and Mitchell’s wife, Clarissa, pitched in, too—plastering, painting, doing the books, and making supply runs to Boston. We lived together at The Allen Farm. Like many in our generation, we were exploring a new way to live and work—one that stood in contrast to the broken politics and rampant consumerism we’d grown up with. From the start, our calling card was design/build, grounded in a strong commitment to craft, camaraderie, and care for the environment.

When NASA unveiled state-of-the-art solar electric systems on its spacecraft, we jumped into the energy revolution here on Earth. Back then, renewable energy was mostly the realm of backyard tinkerers—passive solar houses, solar hot water, and jury-rigged wind turbines. We did it all, and out of that enthusiasm, our solar division would later be born.

We designed and built a solar greenhouse attached to the Edgartown School. It was our first significant venture into community work. It felt good, and it was clear there would be more of this in our future.

One day, I was touring my friend and mentor Lee Halprin around a few project sites. Lee remarked, “The work is beautiful – but are you making any money?" I chuckled, “Pretty much losing money on every project.” Lee responded, “Well, Abrams, you have a unique idea: subsidized housing for the rich.” That zinger inspired me to learn about business: what it is, how to do it, what it can do for people and the planet – and how to design and build subsidized housing for those who actually need it!

We designed and built two beautiful income-qualified homes for Madeline Blakeley and Cathy Weiss. These houses had all the care and quality of our high-end work—just with smaller footprints, simpler designs, and more modest finishes. Financed by Farmers’ Home Administration loans, they cost $45,000 soup to nuts (those were the days!) and solidified our commitment to affordable housing.

Mitchell had departed to pursue farming and company had become too large to run on instinct alone—things were getting more complex, and it was clear a new structure was needed to preserve what mattered most. Steve Sinnett and Pete Ives started the conversation. They told me they'd spend their careers at SMCo but needed more than just an hourly wage to make that commitment. It quickly became clear that this wasn't a one-time phenomenon but would come up again and again if the company continued to succeed.