In the fall of 1984, Richard Marshall, alongside his wife, Gail Marshall, and brother, Timothy Marshall, began pitching tents and renting tables and chairs.
Over 30 years later, Marshall Tent and Event Rental is one of New England’s largest and leading event rental companies. For a few seasons, the small Marshall-family team cleaned, installed, and dismantled every single tent themselves (offering only the Pole Tent at the time), as well as built their own tables and dance floors.
“Grammy” Marshall began the linen department in the laundry room of her Portsmouth, NH home washing, ironing, folding and labeling all of the tablecloths and napkins herself. The china, glassware, and flatware was hand-washed and wrapped in the late evenings at home as well. They started with traditional pole tents and were one of the first tent companies in New England to introduce the Frame Tent in response to a custom design need for events in the Boston Harbor and Boston City Hall Plaza.
As Marshall Tent and Event Rental continued to grow in the early 90’s, two more locations were opened - a showroom in Portsmouth, NH, and an office and warehouse in York, ME. At this time, they also expanded their tent installation and operations team (six of which are still with the company today including General Manager, Christopher Housley, and Lead Foremans, Sean Ready and Jason Ham) and introduced a full-service event rental catalog that offered tables, chairs, china, glassware, flatware, tablecloths, dance floors, staging, barware and serviceware, catering and cooking equipment, along with various party equipment.
During the early years, Marshall Tent and Event Rental became the go-to for many local businesses such as Kittery Trading Post and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. They are also the proud tent supplier for the original Sail Boston on the pier in Boston Harbor, MA, as well as the Brunswick Naval Station air shows. Marshall Tent and Event Rental has been involved in events that featured the last four US Presidents - most commonly working with President Bush Sr. due to his well-known admiration for the state of Maine.
Marshall’s has proudly supported and sponsored many local charity and fundraising events for Special Olympics New Hampshire, Share Our Strength, the Barbara Bush Foundation, Maine General Hospital, and all of Portsmouth Recreation Center’s soccer and basketball leagues supporting over 1,000 kids per year.
As time progressed, it was apparent that more space was needed and so began a total reconstruction project at the Kittery headquarters. In 2010, a 7,580 square foot building was opened offering two showrooms, a corporate office, a large linen warehouse and state-of-the art laundry facility. In 2012, a second 5,000 square foot building was opened with a dish washing facility and an additional warehouse reserved for tents only.
In the summer of 2015, ground was broken for a third and final building. This 4,000 square foot facility will be entirely for inside tent cleaning, maintenance, and storage.
We hear that at least once a day from new and longtime clients, as well as local friends and family. Our tent crews spend hours driving miles and miles in those gleaming red trucks, traveling near and far for tent installation and deliveries.
In fact, veteran and first generation Foremans, Timothy Marshall and Chris Housley, are experts on the best gas stations of Maine and New Hampshire and have joked about writing a book to prove it. So if anyone needs to know the most convenient gas stations with the cleanliest bathrooms and best sandwiches, we have two self-proclaimed experts here in Kittery, Maine.
No matter the size or budget for you event or wedding, Marshall Tent and Event Rental has maintained a strong business motto to treat each and every one with excellent service and supply quality items. We’ve had the privilege of working with many families repeatedly, being a part of their graduations, weddings, showers, and birthday parties. All of our items are hand washed, clean, pressed, wrapped, and double-checked for every single order. Vice President, Timothy Marshall, is a well-known tent expert in New England, and is heavily involved in the design and specifications in our tent productions due to his knowledge of New England events and the mechanical needs specific to the area. Our 1,800 square foot showroom allows for anyone to see our inventory for themselves, and design their tabletop settings using our warehouse regardless of the event size.