Uptown Forum/Perkins Building as it looks today.
Close your eyes and pretend to enter an early Greenville store. There are few if any women around. Outside men sit on benches, gossip, whittle scraps of wood, and ever so often take a snort of whisky as they spit tobacco juice on the wooden sidewalk. Ladies seldom entered these stores that sold liquor alongside groceries and other necessities. Instead, husbands, sons, and maids did the shopping, all on credit.
In 1891 William M. McBride (? -1926) opened what was known as a cash store on Lee Street across from the courthouse (where Landon’s is today.) Seven years later Sam Blackburn Perkins (1872-1948) opened a similar store in Kaufman. Both men individually conceived the idea of selling dry goods for cash at prices that were lower than credit sale but high enough to assure large volume sales.
Four years later S. B. Perkins opened a second cash store here in Greenville in the old Van Ronkel Store on the northeast corner of Lee Street and St. John Street. Sam Perkins was an entrepreneur extraordinaire. A common dry goods store was definitely not in his plans.
By 1919 Perkins Cash Store became known as Perkins Bros. Sam’s younger brother Joe was a partner for a while. At that time the store moved to a new building just east of the older one; one owned by S. B. Brooks and Dave Ablowich. The new building encompassed three previous stores in an L-shaped structure that fronted on both Lee and St. John Streets.
Early on Sunday morning, June 15, 1924 fire broke out in the rear of Perkins Bros. It quickly spread throughout the block. Nothing in Perkins was saved. But, S. B. was not discouraged. He bought the shell and rebuilt a splendid department store with a hotel and print shop adjacent on St. John Street. The interior of the store was routinely remodeled to maintain an up-to-date atmosphere of sophistication. As clientele grew, Perkins Bros. became known for quality merchandise and exclusive lines of clothing, cosmetics, luggage, toys, and home décor. It was the first retail store in town to have air-conditioning and an elevator.
Sam Perkins died in December 1948. Perkins Bros. continued to operate as part of the estate until the 1950s when the youngest child Harry bought and managed all East Texas Perkins Bros. Department stores. Harry was born in Greenville and always had a soft spot in his heart for this store.
However, with the arrival of interstate highways and convenient shopping malls in Dallas, much of the sales at the Greenville store dropped. With a sad heart, Harry sold the store to Herbert and Dortha McGaughey in 1978.
Mr. and Mrs. McGaughey were fascinated with the concept of multiple shops, known as “boutiques” operating in a common location. Joe Rutherford helped the couple make their dream come true with the opening of Uptown Forum. It was a huge success. After almost twenty years, the McGaugheys sold Uptown Forum to Janeen Cunningham who owned Calico Cat with Dortha for years. Janeen has done a remarkable job with the store, the concept of individually owned stores in one location. The façade has not changed since it was rebuilt after the fire in 1925. But the vibrant interior remains the same.
Last year, Greenville native Gail Sprinkle returned home, and bought the building from Janeen. Next Thursday, September 29, Gail and the Chamber of Commerce will hold a Ribbon Cutting. But just think, how many ribbon cuttings will celebrate such a long history of continued retail business in one location with only four owners? Quite a feat!