King Hardware stores

I have seen the name King Hardware before in researching local history, but I don’t have any memories of the store. There was a King Hardware in Brookhaven, at 4046 Peachtree Road near Dresden Drive and when Northeast Plaza on Buford Highway opened in November of 1957, the shopping center included King Hardware. It was the 19th location for King Hardware.

George E. King, son of Reverend James Lawrence King started King Hardware in 1882 with $9,500 in capital. He rented space for his first store at the southeast corner of Peachtree and Wheat Street (Auburn Avenue). King bought out some existing older hardware businesses: Clarke Hardware, Anderson Hardware, and Crumley-Sharp Hardware. (“Atlanta and Environs, Volume II,” by Franklin Garrett)

King was barely able to fill the store with merchandise when it first opened, so he placed many empty boxes at the back of the store to give the appearance of more merchandise just waiting to be unboxed. Items available at the first store included tinware, cutlery, stoves, farming implements, and household hardware.

In 1900, King purchased 53 Peachtree Street to use as his headquarters.

The business celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1957, the same year the Northeast Plaza store opened. By then, the company had 250 employees. The Atlanta Journal advertised, “King Hardware to open 75th anniversary sale at the main store at 53 Peachtree Street.” The main store also carried appliances from brands such as Maytag, Frigidaire, Zenith, RCA Philco, and Marquette.

Other locations of the hardware store in 1957 included Belvedere, Campbellton Road, Forest Park, Piedmont Store, Decatur, and College Park.

George E. King remained active as head of the business until he died at age 83 in 1934, according to Franklin Garrett.

Ida King Akers, daughter of George King, and husband William Akers built a country home along Spalding Drive in what is now Sandy Springs around 1935. The area near the Chattahoochee River was a popular spot for summer homes from the 1920s to 1940s.

William Akers was a manager and vice president for King Hardware. Later, he went into investment banking with Hamilton & Company and the Citizens and Southern Bank of Savennah. In 1933, Akers became administrative financial adviser and vice president of Haverty’s of Atlanta. The couple’s Atlanta home was in Ansley Park.