Landmark family business lasted over 100 years

By C. Scott Holland

LEAMINGTON — Until a decade ago, residents around Leamington and for that matter, southwestern Ontario, often visited one of Leamington’s longest running businesses. The attraction was Jackson’s China and Furniture store on the north side of Talbot St. W.

The business began in 1887, a few years after George W. Jackson had left home (the village of Napier near Glencoe) and moved to Hamilton, where he became a traveling salesman for a stationery firm. Soon he decided to go into business for himself and bought John McRobbie Selkirk’s stationery business in Leamington.

George married Eliza Foster in 1887 and stated, “It is cheaper to marry her than to pay her $2,000 a week in wages!”

The couple lived in a grand house on the corner of Talbot W. and Albert St. (now where Gabriele’s sits). Not long after he started the stationery business, he sold it to James Leonard and took the wallpaper portion of the business and moved to the southeast corner of the main intersection.

Jackson's China in 1978.

Photo from Scott Holland collection.

He expanded business by taking over the American Express Co. and soon purchased the china and crockery department of S. G. Morse’s Busy Big Store.

Besides those goods, his store also sold school supplies, toys and many other items. A large book-like sign indicated the business outside the store and, in later years, a teapot sign would be a familiar sight. In early ads, the store even stated that “produce (was) taken” - eggs, meat or whatever a farmer had to offer as part of a deal.

On Jan. 1, 1900, he purchased and moved the business to the middle of three stores on the north side on Talbot St. W. By 1908 he had moved the American Express office to the railway station and bought the china businesses of P. Phillips, James Evans and Arthur Noble.

By 1912, the furniture department was started and in 1914 his son Foster Jackson joined the business. The business was enlarged in 1916, when George W. bought the store to the west and had archways cut into the walls so people could move from one section to the other.

Early indications of the store’s success were the fact that one of the first wallpaper shipments they received was for 120 bundles - or 6,000 rolls and china arriving from England came in huge “hogs heads” (barrels) and were unpacked behind the store. China was a highly popular item until the store’s final days.

During 1926, a damaging fire struck the grocery store to the east. Because of the blaze, Jackson’s suffered a tremendous loss of goods and damage to the store. George and Foster immediately rebuilt and purchased the lot where the grocery store had been and again enlarged the location.

George passed away in 1932 at the age of 71. Foster took over the business ownership and in 1946, he opened a Jackson’s store on Division St. S. in Kingsville. He co-owned it with his brother, barrister John A. Jackson. That store operated for 22 years. It closed when Foster retired in 1968.

A look at its first location - George W. Jackson started the store on the SW corner where the Cox clothing store sits in this photo from 1900.

During Jackson’s 100th anniversary in 1987, Foster stated that the main reason for its longevity was the addition of Leamington’s Heinz factory. Foster’s son, Bob Jackson joined the business in 1949 and became the third generation of the family to run the store. He stayed with the business until it was sold about 10 years ago.

Another big change happened when the original name of George W. Jackson & Son was changed in 1962 to Jackson’s China and Furniture.

Their list of employees published during their 100th anniversary had many well-known local names and with 120 years of dedication to their customers, Jackson’s was certainly a notable landmark business.