Revenue at the B.B. Fowler Dry Goods store in 1885 reached “the enormous figure of $100,000,” – the equivalent of $2.73 million in 2021 dollars, more than quadruple the revenue of $22,000 in 1872.
Fowler celebrated by giving each employee “a nice fat turkey” on Christmas Eve, and set out to undertake a major expansion of his store at the corner of Glen and Exchange streets in downtown Glens Falls.
The expansion added 2,500 square feet of floor space, bringing total space to 7,000 square feet.
The grand opening was held May 1, 1886.
The B.B. Fowler store at far right • Photo courtesy of The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library
“We are now ready to receive. Our reception, however, will be informal. Visitors are not required to appear in full dress,” Fowler advertised. “Seriously speaking, we are not much given to fuss and feathers, but we extend a cordial invitation to all who visit our new quarters, and we will endeavor to make the visit both pleasant and profitable.”
The Morning Star editorialized: “The grand opening of B.B. Fowler’s enlarged dry goods emporium, last Saturday, furnishes an apt illustration of what straight forward business methods and judicious advertising will accomplish, when backed by tact and ability.”
Fowler employed 10 salesmen, two sales ladies, and a bookkeeper, at the time.
“Mr. Fowler aims to employ none but the best help, pays liberal wages for such, and attributes much of his success to their efficiency.”
Fowler made certain that children felt welcome when they came shopping with their parents.
“He always kept a bushel basket full of candy on hand, and regardless of what he was doing, he would always find time to give a lolly pop to every child who appeared in the store.”
Fowler had advanced in business from a humble beginning.
He was born Sept. 4, 1845 in Chestertown.
After finishing school, he moved to Glens Falls and worked as a clerk for Glens Falls National Bank.
Later he took employment as bookkeeper and office manager for W.W. Rockwell General Merchandise Store at the corner of Glen and Exchange Streets.
On April 22, 1869, Fowler and brother Joseph bought the business and renamed it Fowler Brothers.
Joseph left the business 18 months later, and it became B.B. Fowler.
Christmas Display at B.B. Fowler • Photo courtesy of The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library
By the time of the 1886 expansion, the business had become a destination retailer.
Fowler seemed to be a cross between philosopher/poet and all-American pitch man in a Granville Sentinel ad aimed at attracting shoppers from Washington County.
“Oh fortune, thou fickle goddess, how often is misfortune attributed to thy frown, which is but the result of wasted opportunities?” he mused. “Thus, the man who has offered him gold dollars at seventy-five cents and waits for further depreciation to purchase should not blame fortune for his pigheadedness. He has simply wasted his opportunity.”
Don’t think of the upcoming “Great Slaughter Sale,” with quality merchandise discounted 21 percent or more, as shopping, but as an opportunity for investment, Fowler suggested.
“This may be far too important a sale to be casually noticed. This may be your opportunity, my friend, to make a paying investment. It won’t cost you anything to get the details.”
Economic downturns and a great fire could not prevail against the businesses.
The B.B. Fowler store and 15 other buildings on the west side of Glen Street were destroyed in 1902 in what become known as the Third Great Fire of Glens Falls.
Fowler rebuilt.
The building now houses Downtown Social eatery and lounge on the first floor and JMZ Architects and Planners on the second and third floors.
The B.B. Fowler name is still on the building.
The B.B. Fowler store at far left • Photo courtesy of The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library
The B.B., in case you were wondering, stood for Byron Baker.
In 1919, “Mr. Fowler,” as he was better known in his day, celebrated his 50th year in business.
He booked an orchestra to play on the second floor of his department store from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on three consecutive afternoons from April 22–24.
“A business, like an individual, can have only one fiftieth birthday,” a Post-Star advertisement announced.
Floral bouquets from well-wishers crowded the store.
“Some of the flowers were sent by men who are now highly successful merchants who in earlier years had been assisted and encouraged by Mr. Fowler when they were struggling for a foothold in the business world,” The Post-Star reported. “Others were from merchants who have always been appreciative of the dignified manner in which the Fowler business is conducted and its policy of honest dealings.”
Fowler retired from management of the business in February 1922, but he still went to the store at 10 a.m. every day and stayed till closing.
On April 1, 1936, Fowler sold the business to an investment group, just weeks before he died at 2 a.m. on May 2 at age 90.
“To be sure, he was a builder,” The Post-Star wrote of Fowler, a civic leader who also had interests in banking and transportation. “His community has been enriched, both materially and spiritually, by the things he has built, by the contributions he has made through almost a century to the economic, the social and the religious constitution of the city.”
The B.B. Fowler building, to the right of Davidson Brothers, in 2020 • Photo: Bri Lyons
Sources: The Morning Star Dec. 25, 1885; May 3, 4, 1886; The Post-Star April 21, 23 and 24, 1919; May 2,4, 1936; The Granville Sentinel, July 2, 1886
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