This column first appeared in the November 2016 edition of GreeneSPEAK!
Like most small towns in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, Waynesburg’s garment trade was dominated
by successful Jewish merchants who with their families were respected members
of the community in business, civic and social circles.
The Grossman Brothers "Gent's Furnishings Department," 1907 |
The story of Isaac and Lee Grossman—“the
Grossman Brothers”—is typical of many Jews who came from Eastern Europe seeking
economic opportunity and escape from religious oppression. The brothers were
born in Posen, Germany, an area that was historically Polish but controlled by
Prussia from 1798-1918.
They arrived early in the massive migration
of Jewish families to the United States. Large enclaves established themselves
in trade in the commercial, industrial and cultural centers of the North East:
first New York, then Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Chicago in the
Midwest. Although the Jewish merchants of Waynesburg lived and worked in a
small town in southwestern Pennsylvania, they procured their goods, and later meet their wives, in these cities.
When Issac Grossman died in 1925, he was remembered as "one of Waynesburg's leading citizens, interested in the welfare of the community and generous in his support of charitable causes." |
Isaac Grossman arrived first, in 1877,
at the age of 18. It’s not known why he chose Greene County, but within four
weeks of stepping off the boat, he was in Waynesburg peddling goods by foot. Within
three years, he had purchased a horse and wagon, allowing him to sell throughout
the county. Two years later--in 1882—younger brother Lee arrived and began selling
by foot. Within a year, he too had his own horse and wagon.
Lee Grossman managed the women's wear and dry goods departments while Isaac was in charge of men's clothing. Lee survived his brother by many decades, dying in 1953 at the age of 92. |
In 1885, the Grossman Brothers opened
their first store on High Street, a business that grew into Waynesburg’s first
department store. For many years, they were among the town’s most prominent
merchants.
In 1903, they built the 4-story Grossman
Building next door to the Downey House Hotel. Its modern design was the “talk
of the town” with Waynesburg’s first elevator and first use of glass sidewalk
panels that emitted sunlight into the basement. The department store occupied
three floors, including the basement. Above were two floors of offices. Customers
entered through an elegant lobby with marble wainscoting and a marble staircase
with brass rail.
Tragically, the building and business
were destroyed in the Downey House Fire of December 1925. One month earlier,
Isaac had died in a Philadelphia hospital. Lee sold the site to local
businessmen who erected the Commercial Building, now known as the Ben Franklin
Building, and retired to Danbury, CN.
At the same time, Barney Grossman’s clothing store was half a block away at the corner of High and Washington Streets. |
Although seemingly unrelated to Isaac
and Lee, Barney Grossman was another well-known merchant in Waynesburg of about
the same era, ca. 1896-1906. He owned the first automobile in town and lived in
a big new house, just like the Isaac and Lee. Advertising first as “Barney
Grossman’s Bargain Store” and a few years later as “King Clothier,” his store occupied
the prominent corner where Mickey’s is located today.
Barney and Minnie Grossman built this yellow brick house at the corner of South Morris and West Lincoln Streets. |
Barney had emigrated from Poland in
1892. His father and brothers were also in the “rag trade” in Pittsburgh and
Brooklyn, NY. Unfortunately, Barney was a large creditor of Farmer’s & Drovers
Bank. When it failed in late 1906, federal officials forced closure of his stores
in Waynesburg, Washington and Cameron, WV. Selling the Cameron branch to his brother
Minor, he moved to Washington, PA, then Brooklyn, NY, where he died in 1915 at the
age of 47.
In 1906, Isaac Grossman sold this house on East High Street, across from St. Ann Church, to A. P. Smith. |
Next month, read about other early
Jewish merchants: Harrison & Cohen, R. H. Goldberg and A. Levino.
All photos are from the second
edition of Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful by Fred High, ca. 1907.