Athens Hardware Company
_1936_Historic_American_Buildings_Survey.jpg) A 1936 view of their original home, on East Broad Street in Athens, Georgia | |
| Formerly | Childs, Nickerson & Company |
|---|---|
| Type | Hardware |
| Founded | 1865 as Childs, Nickerson & Company |
| Founders | Reuben Nickerson |
| Headquarters | Athens, Georgia, U.S. |
Number of locations | 1 |
| Owners | Sam "Nick" Nickerson III |
| Website | https://athens-hardware-co.edan.io/ |
Athens Hardware Company (originally the Childs, Nickerson & Company) is a business located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Established in 1865, it is the oldest business in that city,[1] and one of the oldest wholesale hardware companies in operation in Georgia.[2] Originally based out of the Franklin House (built in 1845),[3] on East Broad Street in Athens, the company moved across town in 1972, and again in 2012 to U.S. Route 29.[3][4]
Asaph King Childs co-owned Childs, Nickerson & Company in 1865[5] with Reuben Nickerson (a native of Bucksport, Maine)[6] and John William Nicholson.[7] In 1889, Reuben changed the name to Athens Hardware Company,[8] having purchased the interest of Asaph's son, Walter, in the firm.[9] One of its early presidents was Thomas Henry Nickerson (1862–1930),[10] who was also from Maine but whose relationship to Reuben is not known. He succeeded his uncle, H. R. Nickerson,[2] who was in the role for 25 years.[2] W. B. Jackson was its vice-president in 1896.[11]
Timeline of owners
As of 2015, the business has had five owners under its current name:[8]
- Reuben Nickerson
- Thomas Henry Nickerson
- Sam H. Nickerson Sr.
- Sam H. Nickerson Jr.
- Sam H. "Nick" Nickerson III
References
- ↑ Jones @who_wesjones, Wes (2015-08-31). "Q&A with the 'oldest business in Athens'". The Red & Black. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
- 1 2 3 Hardware Trade Journal. 1929. p. 60.
- 1 2 "Franklin House". Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ↑ Athens Hardware Company – official website
- ↑ Memoirs of Georgia: Containing Historical Accounts of the State's Civil, Military, Industrial and Professional Interests, and Personal Sketches of Many of Its People. Southern Historical Association. 1895. p. 485.
- ↑ Memoirs of Georgia: Containing Historical Accounts of the State's Civil, Military, Industrial and Professional Interests, and Personal Sketches of Many of Its People. Southern Historical Association. 1895. p. 484.
- ↑ Southern Cultivator and Farming. J.W. and W.S. Jones. 1868.
- 1 2 Jones @who_wesjones, Wes (2015-08-31). "Q&A with the 'oldest business in Athens'". The Red & Black. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
- ↑ Iron Age and Hardware, Iron and Industrial Reporter. Chilton Company. 1889. p. 976.
- ↑ Ellis, William Arba (1911). Norwich University, 1819-1911; Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor. Capitol city Press. p. 210.
- ↑ The Iron Age. David Williams. 1896. p. 1215.