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 In 1861 Henry M. Kirk (1820-1902), born in Youngstown but raised in Lawrence County, founded a hardware business on the Diamond in downtown New Castle. Henry left the business to his sons Charles J. Kirk and Howard M. Kirk Sr. in 1881 and moved to Montana to raise cattle. The company went through a series of partnerships and name changes and became Kirk & Smith Hardware in 1889, when Charles J. Kirk teamed with James M. Smith Sr. Both of these men left the firm in later years to found successful companies – Kirk with the Universal Sanitary Manufacturing Company (later Universal Rundle) and Smith with Shenango Pottery (Shenango China). In 1893 the company moved into a new building at #24 East Washington Street, which may have actually joined their old quarters. (c1905) Full Size |
 In January 1917 the hardware business was reorganized as the Kirk Hutton Company and was led by Howard M. Kirk Sr. (1868-1952). When Kirk Sr. passed away in 1952 his son Howard M. Kirk Jr. (1905-1997) took over the company. The business remained in operation until an elderly Kirk Jr. (shown above) decided to close it in the summer of 1989. The family-run business had been in operation for 128 years. A auction was held on July 22, 1989, to sell off the equipment and remaining stock. The Perelman family purchased the building in October 1989 and it has since been home to several businesses. (1986) |
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Comments
Jack Gill #
I got a 26-inch Schwinn Spitfire there in 1962 and a Huffy in 1973. Most of his employees were older than sin, but they all knew where each of the 22,000 articles in hardware were.
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