Wilson's (department Store)
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Wilson's was a full line department store, based in
Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Val ...
. It first opened in 1882, and closed in 2020. The original business, known as the Boston Store, was owned and operated by the White Brothers from 1882 to 1896. Its original frontage was only 25 feet, but it thrived and doubled in size. In 1896 John Wilson, from
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, bought the store from the Whites and renamed it the John Wilson Company. He enlarged the store by adding a second floor, a grand double staircase in the center, and a grocery department on the lower level. The new store even had a horse-drawn delivery service, with a
livery stable A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
on the premises. In 1929, R. Stanley Reid of the former Boston Store in North Adams and George L. Willis of the then Wallace Company in
Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfieldâ ...
together purchased the John Wilson Company store from the Wilson family. The Reid family owned the business after Mr. Willis’s death in 1941. Robert S. Reid, Jr. served as President of Wilson’s from the time of his father’s death in 1961 until his retirement in 1990. During his tenure he expanded the second floor and added a third floor into space once occupied by the Greenfield Hotel. More expansion of the second and third floors took place in 1974. Kevin J. O’Neil, son-in-law of Mr. Reid, joined the family business in 1981. He was elected President of Wilson’s, Inc. in 1990. He installed the first computer system and had overseen many interior remodeling projects, but elected to liquidate and close the store upon his retirement. Wilson’s closed on January 31, 2020.


References

{{reflist * Yankee Travel Guide, 2009


External links


Official site
Defunct department stores based in Massachusetts 1882 establishments in Massachusetts