When we were Hamilton Missouri, we took note of the fact that this was the home of JC Penney. The small wooden house that he grew up in is still there, though we didn’t go in the house.

By the time JC Penney brought a store to the town, it was store number 500. So clearly he was well established as a retailer before venturing to his home town. Inside the store, which Missouri Star Quilt Company has refurbished it and established a store inside it keeping the name in the building.

Inside the store, just behind the counter was an old black and white photo of the inside of the store under operation. I decided to see if I could get a good image from it – it’s not great but you’ll get the point of the photo.