Overview of Woolworths in the 1800s
Until January 2009 Woolworths was a big store-based company and a familiar name in High Streets across the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. The stores in Britain traded for almost a hundred years and most people would think they were as British as fish and chips. But the story started thirty years earlier, on the other side of the Atlantic where the chain traded from 1879 until 1997. Today there are still Woolworths store chains trading in countries around the world, including Germany, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Jamaica and Barbados, as well as a major website in the UK.
It all started with one man's dream and energy - Frank Woolworth. He created a business that revolutionised retailing across the world, working with his brother, Charles Sumner Woolworth, and reuniting with his friends from childhood and his apprenticeship in the store trade. You can read the story here in the Original Virtual Museum. It all began in America, shortly after the Civil War - a new country with new frontiers and new opportunities.
Our 1800s Gallery explores the origins of Woolworths and lets you visit some of the first stores and take a look at the products that they sold.
The Dry Goods Store of Augsbury and Moore, in Public Square, Watertown, New York, USA was the birthplace not only of the F. W. Woolworth Five and Ten Cent Stores, but also of the friendships and partnerships that helped the company take hold and prosper.
It was William Moore, the Proprietor, who gave a young Frank Woolworth his first job in Retail, who loaned him the money to open his first store, and who trained many of the Managers and Partners who went on to create Woolworths.
You can visit the first store and read the story later in this gallery. But first here's an overview and timeline showing some highlights from the early years.
| April 13, 1852 |
Frank W. Woolworth born in Rodman, Jefferson County, USA |
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| February 1859 |
The Woolworth family buys a farm in Chestnut, near Great Bend |
| March 24, 1873 |
Frank takes an unpaid apprenticeship at the Augsbury and Moore Dry Goods Store |
| February 22, 1879 |
The first ever Woolworth store opens in Utica, New York. It closed again in May. |
| June 21, 1879 |
Woolworth tries again with a successful store opening in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Opening day sales are $127.65 and he knows he has found a winning formula. |
| July 19, 1879 |
Frank's brother C. S. Woolworth joins to open a store in nearby Harrisburg |
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| November 6, 1880 |
Harrisburg replaced briefly by York then Scranton, managed by C.S. Woolworth |
| January 1881 & 2 |
C.S. Woolworth uses his profits to buy out his brother at Scranton over two years |
| Sept 10, 1884 |
C.S. Woolworth persuades his former Moore's co-worker Fred Kirby to partner him in opening a store in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It prospers after a rocky start. |
| Sept 20, 1884 |
Cousin Seymour Knox opens a store in Reading, PA with F. W. Woolworth |
| July 1887 |
Frank Woolworth opens a small Buying Office in Chambers Street, New York City |
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| August 2, 1887 |
Fred Kirby buys out his partner to take full control in Wilkes-Barre |
| Sept 17, 1887 |
Frank Woolworth opens a store in Lockport, New York, jointly with Edwin McBrier |
| Autumn 1887 |
Woolworth opens a larger Buying Office with a Warehouse in Broadway, New York |
| 1888-9 |
Knox buys his stores from Woolworth, and soon partners Earle P. Charlton |
| January 5, 1890 |
Woolworth promotes Store Manager Carson Peck to manage his growing office |
| February 19, 1890 |
Frank Woolworth sets sail to Europe on his first Buying Trip. He loves it and returns laden with merchandise that soon becomes a key differentiator for the Syndicate! |
| August 1891 |
Woolworth opens a larger store in Rochester, New York, to great acclaim |
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| 1891 - 1894 |
F.W. and C.S. Woolworth, S.H. Knox, E.P. Charlton and F.M. Kirby enter a 'friendly rivalry', all opening five and ten cent stores, and stocking goods bought by Frank Woolworth. The buying syndicate helps them to outshine upstart dime store chains. |
| 1895 |
Knox proves a city-centre format in Detroit that paves the way for many more |
| 1899 |
Charlton sells F.W. Woolworth 9 stores and refocuses on Canada and the Rockies |
| November 1900 |
With 100 stores in the chain, Frank Woolworth celebrates with a 'skyscraper' - his own six storey retail, leisure and office development in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. |
Shortcuts to other exhibits in our 1800s Gallery
1800s Overview: the story begins
Formative years of the Woolworth Brothers
Birthplace - Augsbury & Moore, Watertown, NY
The first five cent table
Experimental five cent store in Utica (a flop)
First successful store - Lancaster PA 1879
The 'friendly rivals' buying syndicate
Frank Woolworth's early buying trips to Europe
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