About DeHaven's
DeHaven's Transfer & Storage has been moving families and businesses since 1951. Founded by Ruth DeHaven Long after she moved south from West Virginia, the company has grown over more than seven decades from a one-woman operation into a full-service moving, storage, and logistics company serving North Carolina and beyond. Today, DeHaven's is still family-run and operated by Ruth's son, Robert Long, continuing the standards she set when she started the business. As an agent of North American Van Lines since 1960, we combine the personal accountability of a family-owned business with the nationwide and worldwide reach of one of the largest moving networks in the industry.
Our Story
When Ruth DeHaven Long founded DeHaven's in 1951, she did it the same way she did everything: by rolling up her sleeves and getting to work. After moving south from West Virginia, Ruth needed land cleared for the company's first operations. When no local contractor would take the job, she traded a piece of property for a bulldozer and cleared the land herself.
That spirit, hands-on, accountable, and willing to do whatever the job required, is what built the company and what still defines it today. DeHaven's joined the North American Van Lines agent network in 1960 and opened its Durham operations in 1962, becoming one of the longest-tenured NAVL agencies in the Southeast. Today the company is led by Ruth's son, Robert Long, who continues the standards she set, with her grandson Ricky Sowards working alongside him as part of the team. Three generations, one company, the same values from the start.
In May 2026, DeHaven's relocated to a new Durham facility, marking the next chapter in a company history that has now spanned more than seventy years of moving North Carolina families and businesses. The location is new. The standards haven't changed since 1951.
Trusted with North Carolina's Most Important Moves
Over more than seven decades in business, DeHaven's has been entrusted with moves for some of the state's most significant clients and institutions. We've handled extensive work for Duke University, UNC, and NC State across decades of academic, research, and institutional relocations. In 2005, we coordinated the full pack-out, secure storage, and return of the contents of the North Carolina Executive Mansion during a major remediation project, a credential we're particularly proud of. Alongside this institutional work, we've served thousands of residential customers, commercial accounts, and military families throughout North Carolina and across the country.
What We Do
DeHaven's offers a full range of moving and storage services for residential and commercial customers, including:
- Local and intrastate residential moves throughout North Carolina
- Long-distance and interstate moves through our North American Van Lines partnership
- International relocations through NAVL's worldwide network
- Commercial and office relocations of every size
- University and institutional moves
- FF&E and project-based commercial logistics
- Specialized equipment and laboratory moving
- Short-term and long-term residential and commercial storage
- Fine art, antique, and high-value crating and transport
- Warehouse, distribution, and final-mile logistics services
Our People
A 75+ year-old family business doesn't survive without a team that shares the values it was built on. DeHaven's leadership includes Robert Long, son of founder Ruth DeHaven Long, who has continued to lead the company across decades of growth, alongside Robert's son Ricky Sowards, who carries the family's involvement into the third generation. Our broader team includes management with decades of industry experience, move coordinators who guide every project from initial consultation through final delivery, and trained, uniformed crews accountable to the standards Ruth set when she founded the company. We invest in our people because they are the reason customers come back to us, refer their friends, and trust us with one of the most stressful days of their lives.
Our Equipment and Facilities
As a North American Van Lines agent since 1960, DeHaven's has access to one of the largest and most specialized moving fleets in the industry. Our agency operates a full fleet of air-ride straight trucks and tractor-trailers, with thousands of square feet of secure, vaulted warehouse space at our Durham facility. Our services include WORLDTRAC® satellite shipment tracking, climate-controlled and secured storage, fine art and high-value warehousing, and the specialized equipment needed to handle everything from small apartments to multi-million-dollar commercial projects.
Why DeHaven's
Moving is one of the most stressful events a person or business goes through. Choosing the right moving company is the difference between a smooth transition and a series of problems that compound over weeks. DeHaven's has been doing this work since 1951 not because of luck, but because we've built a company on accountability: showing up when we say we will, doing the job right the first time, taking responsibility when something goes wrong, and treating every customer's belongings the way we'd want our own treated. Whether you're moving across town, across the country, or across the world, we'd be honored to handle it.
Plan Your Move with DeHaven's
Whether you're planning a residential move, a commercial relocation, or an institutional project, DeHaven's is ready to help. Call us to talk with our team or fill out our free, no-obligation quote form to get started. We'll walk you through the process, build a plan around your timeline, and stand behind the work from start to finish.
