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Historic photograph available from the Greenville Historical Society
A purveyor of men’s furnishings, Smith and Bristow opened in 1891 at the northwest corner of Main and W. Washington streets on the future site of Woolworth’s store. Alonzo A. Bristow, a co-owner along with Jesse R. Smith, was one of Greenville’s leading merchants. After the Greenville Board of Trade closed during the panic of 1893, Bristow was instrumental in reviving this businessmen’s organization in 1901. He served as president of the board along with the vice president, Alester G Furman. In 1912 the Board of Trade affiliated itself with the new statewide chamber of commerce network. Both Bristow and Smith were also involved in the construction of the Ottaray Hotel.
[From “Remembering Greenville: Photographs from the Coxe Collection” by Jeffrey R. Willis]
Greenville’s newest main street development, ONE, now occupies the former home of Smith and Bristow. The site will be remembered as the location of Woolworth’s store and the Civil Rights sit-ins and marches that took place there. The statue of Sterling High School students commemorates the significance of the school and the intersection to the Civil Rights movement. African-Americans traditionally congregated at Washington and Main to hold demonstrations and to socialize, which is why the corner is appropriately called Sterling Square.
