Sebastian S. Kresge
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Sebastian Spering Kresge (July 31, 1867 – October 18, 1966) was an American businessman. He created and owned two chains of
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
s, the S. S. Kresge Company, one of the 20th century's largest discount retail organizations, and the
Kresge-Newark Kresge-Newark was an upper-middle market department store based in Newark, New Jersey. The firm was started in 1923 when its founder Sebastian Kresge purchased the L.S. Plaut Department store "S. S. Kresge Enters New Enterprise— Twenty-five ...
traditional department store chain. The discounter was renamed the Kmart Corporation in 1977.


Early life and education

Kresge was born near Allentown, Pennsylvania, the son of Sebastian Kresge and the former Catherine Kunkle. Living on the family farm in Kresgeville (named for his ancestors) until he was 21 years old, he was educated in the local public schools, the Fairview Academy, in
Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania Brodheadsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,700 at the 2020 census. The community is served by Pleasant Valley School District. Geography Brodheadsville is located at (4 ...
, and at the
Eastman Business College The Eastman Business College was a business school located in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It operated from 1859 until it closed in 1931. At the height of its success, the school was one of the largest commercial colleges in the United St ...
in
Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
, from which he graduated in March 1889.


Career

Following his graduation, he clerked in a hardware store for two years, then worked as a traveling salesman from 1892 to 1897. On March 20, 1897, Kresge began working for James G. McCrory, the founder of J.G. McCrory's, at a
five and ten cent store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It u ...
in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. He continued there for two years. In 1899 he founded his own company, with Charles J. Wilson, with an $8,000 investment in two five-and-ten-cent stores; one was in downtown Detroit, Michigan, for which he traded ownership in McCrory's. In 1912, he incorporated the S.S. Kresge Company with 85 stores. The company was first listed on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
on May 23, 1918. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Kresge experimented with raising the limit on prices in his stores to $1. In 1923, he again started a new company, buying out L.S. Plaut & Co., a large traditional department store in
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Kresge's New Chain
''Time'', August 13, 1923
By 1924, Kresge was worth approximately $375,000,000 ($ in 2009 dollars) and owned real estate of the approximate value of $100,000,000.


Personal life

He was married and divorced at least twice by 1928. Farid-Es-Sultaneh v. Commissioner, 160 F.2d 812 (2d Cir. 1947) Kresge and his family were members of Detroit's North Methodist Episcopal Church. He held membership in numerous organizations including four
Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
s and the
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...
,
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
, the Detroit Athletic,
Boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...
, and
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
Clubs, Rotary, and various commercial and automobiling societies. Kresge died on October 18, 1966, at the age of 99.


Legacy

The first
Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...
opened in 1962 in
Garden City, Michigan Garden City is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,692. The city is part of the Metro Detroit region and is approximately west of the city of Detroit. M-153 (Ford Road) ...
. Kresge died in 1966. In 1977, the S. S. Kresge Corporation changed its name to the Kmart Corporation. In 2005,
Sears Holdings Corporation Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th- ...
became the parent of Kmart and
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
, after Kmart bought Sears, and formed the new parent. In 1924, Kresge established
The Kresge Foundation The Kresge Foundation is a philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan, United States. The foundation works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, envir ...
, a non-profit organization whose income he specified simply "to promote the well-being of mankind". By the time of his death, Kresge had given the foundation over $60,000,000. A strongly committed
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
ist, he organized the National Vigilance Committee for Prohibition enforcement and also heavily supported the
Anti-Saloon League The Anti-Saloon League (now known as the ''American Council on Addiction and Alcohol Problems'') is an organization of the temperance movement that lobbied for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. Founded in 1893 in Ober ...
financially, though he later stopped contributions. By 2018, the Foundation's endowment had grown to $3.6 billion.


Namesakes

Numerous places have been named after Kresge: *The S.S. Kresge Learning Resource Center at
Meharry Medical College Meharry Medical College is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Medical school in the United States, medical school affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Nashville, Te ...
, established through a grant from the
Kresge Foundation The Kresge Foundation is a philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan, United States. The foundation works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, envir ...
*The Kresge Eye Institute at
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
, established through a grant from the
Kresge Foundation The Kresge Foundation is a philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan, United States. The foundation works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, envir ...
*The Kresge Science Complex at
Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014. They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Interco ...
, in
Albion, Michigan Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,616 at the 2010 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area. The earliest English ...
*A street in
Amherst, Ohio Amherst () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located west of Cleveland. The population was 12,681 at the 2020 census. History The original village, which eventually became known as Amherst, was established/founded by pione ...
, Kresge Drive *The southern tip of Pemaquid Point in
New Harbor, Maine New Harbor is a small scenic coastal village in the town of Bristol, in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. In 2019, the town of Bristol, and in turn New Harbor, was a finalist in the Reader's Digest award for "America's Nicest Place." Bristol ...
, Kresge Point (they had a summer house there) * Kresge College, a
residential college A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship wi ...
at the
University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...
*The Kresge Auditorium at Bowdoin College *The Kresge Auditorium at
Olivet Nazarene University Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) is a private Nazarene university in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Named for its founding location, Olivet, Illinois, ONU was originally established as a grammar school in east-central Illinois in 1907. In the late 1930 ...
*The
Kresge Auditorium Kresge Auditorium (MIT Building W16) is an auditorium structure at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located at 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was designed by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, with g ...
at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
*The Kresge Auditorium at Stanford University, torn down in 2009 *The Kresge Auditorium at Interlochen Center for the Arts in
Interlochen, Michigan Interlochen ( ') is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 694, up from 583 at the 2010 census. The community is located with ...
*The Kresge Auditorium at
Indiana University at Kokomo Indiana University Kokomo (IU Kokomo or IUK) is a public university in Kokomo, Indiana. It is a regional campus of Indiana University serving north central Indiana. History In 1932, John and George Beauchamp opened the Kokomo Junior College ...
- Kokomo, Indiana *One of
Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts The College of Fine Arts (CFA) at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania oversees the Schools of Architecture, Art, Design, Drama, and Music along with its associated centers, studios, and galleries. The Coll ...
' theaters *The Kresge Ford Building at
College for Creative Studies College for Creative Studies (CCS) is a private art school in Detroit, Michigan. It enrolls more than 1,400 students and focuses on arts education. The college is also active in offering art education to children through its Community Arts Par ...
in Detroit, Michigan *The Kresge Library at Oakland University in
Rochester, Michigan Rochester is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,711 at the 2010 census. It is a northern suburb in Metro Detroit located 20 miles north of the city of Detroit. Rochester was the first European settlem ...
*The Kresge Library at
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
Ross School of Business The Stephen M. Ross School of Business, also known as Michigan Ross, is the business school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1924, the school is ranked among the best business schools i ...
*The Kresge Memorial Library at
Covenant College Covenant College is a private, liberal arts, Christian college in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, located near Chattanooga, Tennessee. As the college of the Presbyterian Church in America, Covenant teaches subjects from a Reformed theological w ...
*The Kresge Engineering Library at
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
*The Kresge Physical Sciences Library at
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
*Kresge Chapel on the campus of
Claremont School of Theology Claremont School of Theology (CST) is an American graduate school focused on religion and theology and located in Claremont, California. CST is fully recognized and approved as one of thirteen official theological schools of the United Methodi ...
*Kresge Hall at
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
, which currently houses the
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chartere ...
*Kresge Hall at
Bentley University Bentley University is a private university focused on business, accountancy, and finance and located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham ...
, a residence hall built in 1975 *Kresge Hall at Harvard Business School and the Kresge Building at the
Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard- MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's firs ...
*Kresge Hall at
Metropolitan United Methodist Church The Metropolitan United Methodist Church is a church located at 8000 Woodward Avenue (at Chandler) in the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It was completed in 1926, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and designated ...
*Kresge Dining Hall at John Brown University *The Kresge Law Library at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
was funded, in part, by a grant from the Kresge Foundation. *The Kresge Art Center at Michigan State University is his namesake. *The Kresge School of Nursing at the
University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...
was named after Kresge after he donated $200,000 in 1960. *The Purdy-Kresge Library at
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
. *The Kresge Administration Building at
Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...
*The Kresge Court at the
Detroit Institute of Art The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project complete ...
in Detroit, Michigan *YMCA Camp Kresge, owned and operated by the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...


References


Further reading

*"Kresge, Sebastian S.", ''The Book of Detroiters'', Marquis, Albert Nelson, ed., 1914, p. 291


External links



S.S.Kresge Company]
The Kresge Foundation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kresge, Sebastian Spering 1867 births 1966 deaths Methodists from Michigan American businesspeople in retailing American temperance activists Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Eastman Business College alumni Kmart People from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Retail company founders Sears Holdings people American Freemasons