Our Story

Socius, a Latin word meaning “friend, ally, or partner,” describes longtime friends Jonathan Hartman and David Salfrank. As kids growing up together in Lancaster, Pennsylvania., they formed a unique bond which has continued to strengthen to this day.

Long before ever starting a company together, Jon and Dave shared a common vision of partnership — not only with one another but with a larger community, both local and global.

The inception for Socius took place with a trip to Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in West Africa. In 1997, Dave spent two weeks there doing local construction projects. He was moved and inspired by this experience and upon his return home commented to Jon, “You should get into [construction]… and someday we’ll do more work like this.” Jon was struck by this comment, and by the idea of having a vocation that could also be a way to serve. In 1997, Jon moved to New York for college. He would not revisit the thought with serious consideration until several years later.

In 1998, Dave moved to the beautiful Pacific Northwest and found a job building custom homes. Every day, Dave worked alongside a craftsman disguised as a farmer named Gaylen, helping and learning. The two of them built one home at a time, from foundation to rooftop. In the coming years, Dave moved into a more specialized aspect of homebuilding- concrete applications. In this medium, Dave discovered doing what he loved.

Jon moved to Bellingham, Washington, in the summer of 1999 to be Dave’s best man at his wedding and spend the approaching months working alongside his friend. It was during this time that Jon was inspired again by the idea they had as youths. A vision began to grow in his heart to continue building with Dave and to turn it into something more.

Jon returned to the East Coast and finished his last year of college before getting married, in 2001. He and Dave settled into their lives on opposite coasts, but Jon was restless to realize this vision. Together with his wife Tandy, Jon founded Socius Construction in 2003 with the intention of persuading Dave and his wife Sara to move back to Lancaster as partners.

A year later, Dave and Sara packed up their home and said a very difficult goodbye to family and friends in Seattle and began the return trip to Lancaster. They joined the fledgling business in 2004 and threw themselves into making it a success.

It is our dream that as Socius continues to grow, we would be empowered to make a difference in the world, beginning in the lives of the people we work with every day.