County of Display: Caldwell County
Location of Display: Penney Dr. & S. Davis St. (MO 13), Hamilton, MO
The Person:
James Cash Penney Jr. (September 16, 1875 – February 12, 1971) was an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the JCPenney stores in 1902.
"J. C. Penney was born on September 16, 1875, on a farm outside of Hamilton, Caldwell County, Missouri. He was the seventh of twelve children, only six of whom lived to adulthood, born to James Cash Penney and Mary Frances (born Paxton) Penney. Penney's father was a Baptist preacher and farmer whose strict discipline included making his son pay for his own clothing once he reached 8 years of age.
"After graduation from Hamilton High School, Penney intended to attend college with hopes of becoming a lawyer. However, his father's untimely death forced a change in plans, and Penney was forced to work as a store clerk to help support the family. Penney's tuberculosis caused him to venture west to Longmont, Colorado." ~ Wikipedia
"Penney was born on Sept. 16, 1875. His father, for whom he was named, taught him a great deal about farming, livestock and certain aspects of range conservation. In 1895, Penney’s father set up a retailing apprenticeship for his son with John M. Hale, the proprietor of a local department store in Hamilton (which ultimately became the 500th store in the Penney chain of stores).
"After a two-year stint with Hale, Penney moved to Longmont, Colo., because of the threat of tuberculosis. There he was hired by Thomas Callahan, a chain store merchant, whose philosophy was to sell only quality merchandise on a cash basis with a comparatively low markup. In 1902, at the age of 26, Callahan offered Penney a managing partnership in a new Golden Rule store in Kemmerer, Wy. Penney eventually purchased the Golden Rule stores and transformed them into the J.C. Penney chain.
"Penney loved being connected with agriculture, as is detailed in a book I recently came across, “J.C. Penney, The Man, The Store and American Agriculture,” by David Delbert Kruger (University of Oklahoma Press, 2017, 346 pages, $29.95). He was involved in the development and breeding of grand champion Guernsey dairy cattle, Percheron draft horses, mules, Black Angus cattle, and Hereford cattle. He acquired his father’s original farm in Hamilton, which is northeast of Kansas City, and expanded it to several thousand acres of ranching and farmland under the banner of Home Place Farms.
"After suffering a massive heart attack in his sleep, Penney died at age 95 on Feb. 12, 1971, a time when life in small-town America was undergoing drastic change to the detriment of Main Street stores like his own. On the morning of his funeral, 1,660 J.C. Penney stores across all fifty states shut down in remembrance of their founder." ~ The Active Age
The Place:
Not much printed about this place.
It is a plane white frame structure. The architectural style is called pyramidal. Some people call this style "Box" and other "American Foursquare" I doubt if foursquare qualifies since this building is only one-story tall.
This is not to be confused with the J.C. Penney Museum, which is located down the street at the public library. This is actually the home where the would-be entrepreneur was raised. Unfortunately not very much is known about his time in Hamilton, but the house was moved to a site where a railroad depot once sat. It is easy to spot when you're going through town.
The house is free and anyone can just walk in during opening hours. There was no attendant or anyone present at the time of my visit, but they do have cameras all over. Be sure to sign the guestbook. A lot of stuff had been restored to what it was believed to have looked like when Mr. Penney lived there.